Tuesday, August 17, 2010

HIMSELF circa '93





















18x24"
pastel on paper
NFS

In the new beginning/cleaning process, everything is coming off the walls, even himself! I'm going to get it professionally framed finally. When we hooked up back in '92, I worked exclusively in pastel. I loved working with them but stuck with them primarily because painting in oil still frightened me at the time.

Since we share roughly the same level of ability there was a lot of sparring going on back in the day. I came home from shopping one day to find him hard at work on a pastel portrait of me that was stunning...the work, not me. I love it and it still hangs in the living room. However, I needed to answer his call with my own study of him and this is the result. He was tan from the summer sun, sitting at the dining room table, drawing happily with a glass of chardonnay by his side. More detail than you needed, but it was a nice moment and I wanted to wax poetic.

I'm finishing up my submission for this month's art meeting (it's late, the meeting was Saturday) in-between cleaning. I'm still overwhelmed but feeling very optimistic and anticipating a lot of positive results from all of this upheaval. We find ourselves actually walking by the studio and the store room just to glance in and feel their calmly uncluttered quiet. Ahh.

17 comments:

  1. wow what a gorgeous bloke and the paintings not bad either (joke!) Love it, the angle, the mood, the colours everything.

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  2. Suzanne, himself is a jaw-droppingly handsome fellow! You did a magnificent job on this piece!

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  3. Wow, you should definitely get this framed. I can't wait to see the final photos of the studio!!

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  4. I just love the pastel Suzanne, lots of movement, and rich colours.

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  5. Gorgeous model...gorgeous painting. Love your use of colour, something I have trouble getting into the heads of my students, that it is OK to put lots of colour in skin tones - that there is no such thing as "flesh colour,"
    Beautiful handling.

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  6. Himself is HANDSOME! (I need to find me one like that!)

    You were so good even back then, Suzanne! Ugh, I'm jealous!

    -Dean

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  7. Well, Suz, it's my turn to be late to the party. I'm just glad I didn't miss it, because this ROCKS! Tim must be proud. I know I would be.

    -Don

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  8. Fantastic pastel, you are talented!

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  9. You never mentioned your were married to Adonis...!
    We should all be so lucky to have a brilliant portrait of our prime. Lucky Tim. Lucky Suz!

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  10. Now THAT is a beautiful man!!!

    .... oh.... and also a wonderful painting!!!

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  11. Wow...this is stunning!The highlights of skin and hair are fantastic.

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  12. My, my, my! What a gorgeous portrait (and model)! Love those warm skin tones, the candid pose, the contrasting background color, the way you kept the shadows a deep warm tone and the highlights golden yellow. I can see the intense love went into this! Favorite spots: the contrast of shadow and light that hit under his brow bone and the highlights in that gorgeous Tarzan Hair!

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  13. wonderful - the colors are so rich, the pose so perfectly captured - and it's an unusual portrait pose, too - great! (and yes, i chime in with all others - quite the handsome model!) so glad the cleanup is still happening & still feels good - congratlations! (say, will we see the portrait he did of you someday?!) thank you!

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  14. Wow, very beautiful, and the painting's pretty nice too! ;)
    Can we see the one he did of you?

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  15. Just when did this Greek God fall from the sky?? Could someone bring me a glass of water..I think I'm getting the vapors!

    Seriously, Suzanne, your work always astonishes me...I know you're good, I should expect it, but then I come on your blog and my jaw drops to the floor....again!

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