A New Leaf

     This summer has been an eventful one for me. Do you ever have so many "coincidences" dropped in your path that you become sure you're going the right way? Through more of these than I can tell you here, I've become really really intrigued by old black and white photos of actual people who, I feel, need to be remembered. For our sakes. Whenever painting people, I've always recruited models, tried to set up a scene with costumes accurate to the setting, and when possible, painted from life for realistic color. But the initial idea or concept for the painting always came from my head. (So it was fictional). I'm not saying there's anything wrong with fiction, but this summer I've discovered a well brimming with meaning -at least for me- in the lives of people who really existed. They say truth is stranger than fiction. I think it can also be more intense, and more lovely. So this is turning over a new leaf for me... I want to start painting people from historical photos. But this isn't going to be any easier, because in most cases, I'll still need real life reference material- i.e. models, clothing, and landscape photos- to recreate accurate color and value notes in order to make the paintings feel real. I'm excited to share this new journey with you, and to share the people and stories I discover along the way.