Captive subjects

“William does bananas”, 5x8" watercolor

Rita Reinecker of Minneapolis, Minnesota was winner of the red fruit contest. Pomegranate, she guessed and pomegranate it was. Dave Hawley of Huntington Beach, California came in second by guessing tomato. Both were good responses, both, more creative than an obvious red fruit apple response.

The first request I’m likely to get when I’m commissioned to paint a wedding is “paint my grandkids”. As you may know, my wedding painting is done on location, in the moment. No preliminary sketching with pencil, just alla prima paint application. If one of my subjects stays still for more than a minute, I’m fortunate. Kids, of all people, do not stay still for a minute. And so I simply respond to a grandparent’s request by saying, “I can’t guarantee anything. But then, neither do doctors and lawyers.” They usually cut me some slack.

This painting of William was a little less challenging. He was locked into his high chair, and so I had a captive subject. And his little dog Felton enjoyed snoozing, so he too was still for more than a minute. See the entire collection of William and Felton paintings by clicking here.

“Cavalier King Charles on his throne”, 6 x 8" watercolor