preliminary drawing for musicians & runner, 35x26” ˆpimento colored pencil on portrait linen
1:56 PM: once i tweaked musicians & goldfish, i started the drawing for musicians & runner, which thus far doesn’t have any goldfish!!
i’m kinda tired today, so i’m not starting to paint in oils till tomorrow morning. you will know, if you follow my blog posts, that the musician in the foreground, who appears in recent paintings, is inspired by a photo i shot years ago on the greek island of andros, where we spent our summers during my 15 years in greece.
what i noticed for the first time today when i looked at the photo carefully is that the only visible nail on the musician in the foreground with his legs crossed is his thumbnail, and it’s painted pink; something very unusual for that period of time in greece, and especially in andros. presumably, the rest of his fingernails are also painted pink; something i can’t remember ever seeing during the time i spent on andros. it simply wasn’t yet a thing in greece during the ‘70’s.
what i do recall vividly, in spite of how much time has passed, is that i stopped walking down the main drag to listen; he sang and played so beautifully.
the second musician, in the upper right corner, was inspired by a photo i shot about 10-15 years ago, when a local musician came to dinner and serenaded us.
the pink thumbnail
musician & goldfish, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, as she looked following this mornin’s tweaks
ABOVE: before & after this morning’s tweaks
11:25 AM:the black above the head of the guitarist was too dominant, so i painted over it and extended the circular pattern to the left of the guitarist. i’ll sit with it as i start a new one today and see how i feel at the end of the day. right now, i’m thinking that my tweak worked, and your eye can roam about the composition without getting stuck on that black above his head. if you click on the before & after images above, you’ll get a sense of what i’m talking about; what do you think?
jeff plays guitar, pencil on paper, march, 2005, 9x12”
10:20 AM: i was going through an old drawing book yesterday afternoon and came across this 2005 drawing of our old friend Jeff playing guitar in our house. it was indeed wonderful having the house resound with live music!