Before I leave for the UK on Wednesday, I’m hoping to provide an interim report on the BLOG after a little less than two months. Sneak preview: Your favorite posts so far have to do with portraiture — mostly my portrait.
As I have previously stated, I’m in the midst of a development project towards what I hope will be a formal self-portrait some time early in 2026. Along the way I am doing a series of studies to familiarize myself with the surfaces of my face, from my childhood chin scar to my receding hairline. Not sure how many it will take before I feel brave enough to go for it.
In this study my intention was to go for something that revealed a little more of my body, hoping to utilize how I stand as means of recognition. I think most artists recognize that a portrait is more than just a head and shoulders, that we reveal something about ourselves through our entire body. If it looks different from the previous two, it may have something to do with the new Tom Ford glasses. Hope you like ’em. I also spent almost as much time on the head as I did the hand, which gave me a lot of trouble before landing with something vaguely life-like. It no longer looks like a bunch of sausages. Phew!
Once I have completed this process, I’m hoping to open my easel to portrait commissions should anybody be brave enough to undergo such a process. I’m not expecting a big rush, especially in a bad economy. To do a portrait properly does take considerable time. It’s not like I take a snapshot then go away for a month. It’s more than that.
A few days ago I posted about how I had mistaken the theme of a group show after creating a piece specifically for it over the last month or so. This painting is the replacement. With a theme of Rare Forms, it plays on the title with the phrase he or she is in “rare form” tonight. There is also something a bit cheeky about the attitude in the painting that I think fits within the modernist ethos of the gallery’s theme. The group call is a juried show, so I will be sure to update you on its progress. I’ll know if I’m in or out by November 17th.
Not entirely surprising, I did get news that my application for a solo show in 2026 at a nearby gallery was turned down by the jury. I don’t feel bad about it — at present I was holding back work from other submissions on the basis of the theme I had proposed. I’d still like to work on the theme, but it is unlikely now that I would land a show anywhere until 2027, so there is time. Every gallery is different, as is every jury. There is no time to take it personally. When I get back from my upcoming trip I will start casting around for opportunities in 2026.
I also feel that my work is going through a transition period as I get back up to speed of regular production and apply what I have learned from many years of on-again off-again experience. More time and practice may sharpen what I have in mind. I’m already experimenting with a new painting that involves working from an old black and white photo from 1962. That has been challenging, although I’m hoping it will be a lot of fun too. I’ve been looking for colour references from multiple sources, including a 1:26 scale model car that I have. I’m understanding the colour in the shadows of the car much better from it. Given the meticulous and experimental nature of that painting — the original damaged photo is very small and the painting large (at least for me). I’m not expecting that to be done until December, especially given that upcoming trip to the UK.
Given there will be a gap in my posting — I don’t think I will be doing so from abroad — be sure to subscribe and you’ll receive notification when I’m back in the saddle. Feel free to poke around on the site while I’m gone.
Meanwhile, I noticed in the latest edition of Costco Connection (yeah, my erudite reading material) that there is a story written by Gerald Leonard on how creative people can be a workplace superpower. I could relate to much of what he said (egotist that I am), including letting your creative people problem solve — but also to give us space to be ourselves.
“People with creative backgrounds in the arts can have a major impact on an organization and serve as a huge asset to the workforce because of their ability to successfully operate in uncertainty<‘ Leonard writes. Maybe there is method in the madness of graduating so many artists into a cultural environment that cannot possibly accommodate them all.
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