Charcoal of James

I have been away in Annapolis studying portraiture at Maryland Hall and with Cedric and Joanette Egeli since the first week of September. I am so glad to be home.

What did I learn while I was there? I learned too much to type it all here but some of the best things that I came away with are the ability to handle charcoal, how to set up a model with one light source (that is why there is a red blanket on the window behind James) and how to think about the structure of the skull and muscles under the skin on the face. I am still thrilled to use charcoal.

I included some photos of what I have had to do to my living room in order to have a good work space. The model stand doubles as our coffee table. Also, I noticed that you can see the window on the stair landing is blocked by another painting to keep out the light. As always, James and Alex are ever handy models but I am going to start looking for people who can pose for me for two days, two hours each day in intervals of 20 mins posing and then resting for 10. That is plenty of time to do a charcoal from life.
For James, I popped in a two hour movie and that helps to pass the time. So, in the time it takes to watch a couple of movies, it would be done. So if you know anyone who would like to sit for me...I need the practice but I also need some works to show people what I can do. Almost all of the works that I make are commissions so there is never an actual work to show people who are interested- just my online photos and that isn't the same. If you are interested in posing, contact me and we could discuss compensation and arrangements.