Juste Entre Nous

 

oil on panel, 12" x 16"

Just for fun.

Marina

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 9"

This is a portrait study of an old friend of mine with whom I lost touch a number of years ago.  She was Russian and fluent in five languages.  We met in a French conversation class at the local college and took a fun trip to Hawaii together.  The reference photo for this portrait was taken in Hawaii.  Later, I attended her wedding to an Argentinian man on Kauai.  I hope she's doing well.  I suspect so.  She was brilliant!

Gary's Friend II

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is another portrait study I had done in 2024 of someone known to me as "Gary's friend."  This time I just had fun with it, not so concerned with getting a likeness as I was with the interplay of colors.

Please Don't Make Me

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is an oil sketch of a little girl I encountered one day last year at an ice creamery in Fairfax.   Her petulant expression got to me, and I've finally gotten around to expressing it.  I might not be done with this one yet.  Updated 11/25/2025:  Added a few touches.  Updated again:  11/30/2025:  Clearly, I wasn't done with it.  I totally redid the portrait because I hadn't gotten the angle right on the face.  It made a big difference.  Sometimes it takes more than one try to get it right.

Whitehead with Black Bird

 

oil on canvasboard, 14" x 11"

The latest bird girl portrait.  It seems to complete a series I've been doing.  I'm happy with this one.

Young Frida

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a study portrait of Frida Kahlo as a very young woman.  Not sure I got the likeness, but I do like the portrait on its own terms.  It is compelling to me.

Pam

 

oil on canvasboard, 14" x 11"

Here's another portrait study taken from the BBC's Portrait Artist of the Year.  The sitter was Pam Hogg, a British clothing designer.  She was an interesting subject, which everyone picked up on.  I'm thinking of doing a larger portrait of her from the same angle.  We'll see...

Head Series #1

 

acrylic on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a challenge I've set myself to paint a series of imaginary portraits, each in under 30 minutes.  This is the first one.

Emily

oil on canvasboard, 11" x 14"

One of my favorite shows to watch is the BBC's Portrait Artist of the Year.  I decided to paint one of the sitters as an exercise.  The competition for each portrait is what can be accomplished in four hours.  I spent 3.5 hours on this one.  It could be good practice to do more of these, since many of the sitters are unfamiliar to me.  Emily is an award-winning singer/songwriter based in the U.K.  I thought she had a regal bearing and I liked the three-quarter angle.  Updated 5/29/2025:  I changed the background a wee bit with an overlay of lavender.  

Brownhead with White Bird

 

oil on panel, 14" x 11"

I've done a number of female portraits featuring little birds.  Unlike the previous paintings which were all done on canvasboard, this one was done on a cradled panel.  It is my first attempt to elevate this subject matter.  Hopefully, more to come.

Greenhead with Violet Bird

oil on canvasboard, 14" x 11"

This is the sixth quick-sketch palette knife portrait painting I've done pairing women with updo hairstyles and indeterminate little birds.  I've tried to set a time limit of 2 hours to complete them, but a few went over that limit.  I got halfway through this one then had to abandon it for days, which made it hard to complete the way I wanted to, working wet on wet.

Blackhead with Magenta Bird

 

oil on canvasboard, 14" x 11"

Yet another in a series of female portraits paired with little birds.  Again, I went over my time limit of 2 hours with this one, which clocked in at 2.5 hours.  These portraits are mostly done with a palette knife, eliminating the possibility of refined detail work.

Yellowhead with Orange Bird

oil on canvasboard, 14" x 11"

This is another portrait in the series done mostly with a palette knife.  I broke my own rule with this one of keeping to 2 hours tops to do it.  Took me close to 3 hours.

Bluehead with Pink Bird

 

oil on canvasboard, 14" x 11"

This is another head study done in under 2 hours.  It has its merits.

Buika on a Break

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a study of one of my favorite singers in the world, Concha Buika, for her soulful, Flamenco-inspired vocals.  Here she is smoking what looks like a spliff, which might account for the huskiness in her voice.  

Dignity

 

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

A study of the great Tracy Chapman.  I'm going to play with it some more when I have a bit of time.  

Gary's Friend

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

This is a quick portrait study from an image another student used in the portrait workshop from last October.  I thought she had an interesting face and her deep inward gaze pulled me in.  Had to try and paint that!

Dana

oil on panel, 12" x 9"

This is the finished second portrait of Dana in Jacob Dhein's portrait workshop.  It was challenging in that the light sources were multiple.  I worked from a photo taken indoors during the day and with ambient light sources coming in on three sides, plus an overhead light.  I tried to evoke a sense of balance with it, but more importantly with this one, I wanted to capture her innate sweetness of nature, and in that regard, I'm happy with how it turned out.  I also tried to incorporate a bit of abstraction but not confident enough with the technique yet to know how far to push it.  That's why I'm taking his class. Remains to be seen what Jacob thinks.   Update 12.5.2023:  Just swapped in the finished portrait after applying a few refinements suggested by Jacob.  

Smiley Me

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 9"

This is a self portrait during my New York days.  I was at a party with my friend Armando and I was wearing a wig because I was auditioning everywhere I could for the part of Eponine in "Les Miserables."  I was obsessed with it and trying to convince anyone to give me a chance.  Eponine was a waif, a lonely character, and while I knew I could sing and act the part, I don't think I projected enough pathos . . . certainly not at this party!

No One Compares 2 U

oil on canvas paper, 12" x 12"

Upon hearing of the death of Sinead O'Connor at the young age of 56, I was moved to paint her portrait, as she was such a uniquely powerful singer, songwriter and activist.  I thought I would challenge myself by doing this portrait with a palette knife.  It was challenging.