The Naked Silo

Ralph Vint 24" x 24", oil on panel, 2017 What appealed to me most about doing this portrait commission was the candid and casual non-posed look of the subject in the reference photo provided. I really like how he looks as though he'd been looking away and his wife, sitting beside him, snapped a quick photo just as he turned his head to face her. Pencil phase. The vintage photo had enough contextual details to indicate Ralph was sitting behind the wheel of a car and I wanted to make sure this was clear by not cropping anything out that might take him out of that setting (specifically, the steering wheel and the hint of windshield in the top right). Blocking in shadows. The usual: olive green shadow blocking to get my thoughts organized and get things going. Blocking in the skin tones. Refining the skin tones. Early highlights. Further refinement. Nearly done. I like that car in the background; it helps set this painti...

Dill Weed 15" x 11", watercolour, 2016, private collection Beehive (Skep) 15" x 11", watercolour, 2016, private collection These label illustrations were done last year for a local Prince Edward County business getting underway called PEC Foods  that specializes in an all-purpose dressing that is suitable for many kinds of foods besides salads. This is a sort of sneak peek since these elements will only be part of the label in a combined illustration which also features a watercolour portrait I did of Andy. Andy's first dressing style is honey dill (that much should be obvious) and I can honestly say that it's quite tasty. UPDATE (March 2018): Here's a link to the next two illustrations for Andy's follow-up dressing, Tomato Basil .