work in progress

It’s been a while since I last wrote on here, and I feel an obligation to keep up with my website and maintain this blog. It’s the least I can do, considering I can never get a grip with social media or maintain a presence on there..Honestly, I just want to paint and do my work!

Today I drove to Red Bank, NJ. With no traffic, I got there in about 45 minutes to drop off my painting for the upcoming Still Life exhibit at the Oyster Point Gallery. The Town of Red Bank has great energy and vibe to it—being so close to the water gives the town a wonderful atmosphere, and If I lived a little closer, I’d definitely be doing some plein-air painting over there! The architecture of the Oyster Point Hotel was impressive to see in person, and everyone’s work looked fantastic as well.

Back in my studio, I’ve been busy working on a large narrative figurative piece of Icarus (an homage to the Michelangelo work) I’m really enjoying working on the torso and all the feathers on the wings. The idea of flight and the story of Icarus have always inspired me. At first, I sketched Icarus alongside his father, Daedalus, but I ultimately felt that Icarus alone was poetic enough. The  drawing is about 3ft x 5ft and only took a couple of days to complete. For these large preliminary drawings, I tend to stick to soft vine charcoal, red and white chalk, and sanguine, which give a soft, lively flow to the composition. The underpainting is nearly finished, and I’m moving on to the dead-color phase. Once this dries, I’ll do one last round of color, and the painting will be complete. This technique closely follows that of Jacques-Louis David, whose early works are fascinating to study.