The Naked Silo

Final result. I had a recent request for a commission by a friend who wanted me to copy a painting by Mark Tortorella...but I didn't want to just copy someone else's work. But after some heavy thinking, I came up with a solution that would satisfy both of us: I'd make a 3D version of the painting. The idea of taking a 2D image (intended to fool the eye into thinking it's 3D) and making a 3D version of it was too fun to pass up. And now you're looking at a 2D version of my 3D results! The circle is complete! Closer view. My bird is only a close approximation of the one in the painting, my primary goal being realism rather than copying exactly what was in the original version (it's like maybe 95% like the painting, but closer to 100% realistic). "Sparrow" by Mark Tortorella I really like the bittersweet idea that even in death, this little sparrow is still capable of making something as beautiful and hopeful as an image of a rainb...

Kimberley (with Owl) 36" x 48", oil on canvas, 2019, private collection After months of hemming and hawing, I decided late (almost too late; the deadline was April 26) in 2018 to try to get into the Kingston Prize for portraiture. My previous entries were (in chronological order: my Self Portrait (Shoulders)  in 2011, George Emlaw in 2013, George Meanwell (Concertina) in 2015, and Kelsey with Accordion in 2017. None of them got into the show. Too many Georges? Too many parentheticals? Not good enough work? By the end of January this year I decided to reach out to an old friend and ask her if she'd like to be my subject for what could very well be my last attempt. She happily agreed. I've known Kimberley Tardik (née Black) since high school –right around the time I started painting in watercolours – and I've painted her several times in the 1990s: Mythological , Implies , clear , and in these two paintings featuring the Scarborough Bluffs. Since 2018...