RESULTS FROM ARTISTS BY THE BAY DEMONSTRATION TONIGHT

I had the pleasure of doing a demo for a local art organization, Artists by the Bay, in San Mateo. There was some talk of doing a workshop exploring the possibilities of Tyvek. It will probably be a one day event. If it happens, I will post the information.

I had a lot of fun with this painting and it came together faster than usual. Overall, it took about an hour. I worked from one of my sketches rather than the photo. I used a Cheap Joe's Oiler Boiler (the thinnest one) loaded with Walnut Ink to draw the image onto the Tyvek paper. This is a really fun way to draw. Most of the line eventually disappeared by the time the painting was complete but it held up long enough to get the features established. The most difficult part is working flat without being able to hold it up to see if the drawing was correct. Time pressure kept me from checking the drawing before applying the paint. I used a very soft Isaby 1" flat brush to paint most of the time. In the end, I took out my favorite #4 Dragon's Tongue brush for some fine lines. It was pretty tricky getting the painting home as it was still wet. I didn't want to stop the capillary action of the wet paint with a hair dryer. By the time I arrived home, most of the painting was dry. The left eye needs correcting by moving it over a bit. With this paper, that should be an easy fix. Otherwise, I am very pleased with my first full size version of this image. I'm looking forward to doing more as I really like his face.