Michelangelo

You really don't have an idea of the enormous power of this guy until you see his sculptures face to face. He has that great quality of creating figures based on a keen insight of human anatomy. It's not just a learned process. It's something great figurative artists have. It's a total immersion into the way the body works, the way each joint involves the total articulation of tendons, bones, muscles and skin. And as if that wasn't enough, the fact that he was working in marble, using hand crafted tools. Just pure vision and hard work, and indelible talent. The prodigious amount of work he put out doesn't seem possible.

Nudies

Couple more sketches for possible new paintings. I watched a doc on Michelangelo last night. Obviously he will be my next post.

Nude modeling runs in the family

My wife's really been a great model. Well, what do I look for in a model?? First, she's gotta have patience. It's not just a camera shot. I get in there with a sketch pad and make my own notes. Subtle colors, reflected light, soft shadows don't transfer that well through the lens. Then there's the details, like the light reflected in the eyes, or the mirror images, etc. Anatomy's a strange thing. You really need to know it; how the bones and muscles articulate and how each causes stress on the other. I love it. So these pics are some random model shots of my wife, and the painting is titled "Ethereal." Oil on canvas.

Great photography, if you like fish

I run across some really great photography sometimes. These were pulled off of random sites, and they are definitely among ones that I use as inspiration. The lighting is perfect, — chiarscuro — and the themes are along the lines of some of my ideas / sketches that I've done in the past. 

More sketches

A few more for new paintings.

Nude woman's gonna get done

This one is an oil on canvas, 36" x 48" and it's not finished yet. The model is a really great girl that actually sold me my Canon SLR. (BTW, Rebel, with EF100mm Macro IS USM, and EF 24-70mm USM lenses.) She's posed for me a lot over the years, and she's super nice.

This piece I think is next in line to get done.  

The Three Graces

Unfinished painting. This was the first of a series that I never finished. The Three Graces, as people may know were the ideals of humankind. They represented charm, beauty and creativity, and were depicted throughout history by artists like Raphael, Antonio Canova, etc. 
My version has the opposite meaning. It's really the level to which humanity can / has sunk. The meat / flesh on the ground represent depravity, and the subject matter is tied to the modern world by the Coke can in the bottom left of the painting.

Ironically, the girls that posed for me for this painting were strict vegetarians. They were cool though, totally handling bloody chunks of raw meat.