Here's another portrait study of a sitter from the BBC series Portrait Artist of the Year. I'm trying to finish these studies in 4 hours and under, and so far so good. This one took about 3 hours. I'm gearing up for a figure painting workshop with Jacob Dhein in Italy the last week in August.
I keep thinking this is the last of my "bird girl" series, and here we are with yet another one. I've amassed a lot of these by now, but this one is special in that the bird in it is my very own Paco, a red-lored Amazon parrot that I lived wih in New York and South Florida.
I've been sitting with this painting for a while, wondering whether it's finished or not. I've done quite a few of these "bird girl" paintings and I think there might be one or two more in me before I'm done.
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!
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.
This was a quick and loose portrait in thick paint, something I've been wanting to do for ages. I was in the right mood for it, and it worked!
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.
The latest bird girl portrait. It seems to complete a series I've been doing. I'm happy with this one.
Here's another dancer painting to add to the series. And we're not done yet.
My late partner Roy had a great friend in Pete, who's portrait I've painted in honor of the great friend himself. I'll be seeing him and his wife Jacqui next month in Cornwall for the first time in a decade. Can't wait!
This is a stylized portrait of the U.K. fashion designer Pam Hogg. She was a sitter on the BBC's Portrait Artist of the Year and I found her to be an interesting subject.
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.
