Jim Fiscus Completed

Here's the final product. I have to think for a moment, is this the first painting of someone I actually know? Just might be. Aside, of course, from the large portrait of Jesus Christ that I did for Grace Point Church. I'll share that one in a future post. Pamela has been asking me for years to do paintings of our girls. And an accomplished painter whom I've recently been in touch with has encouraged me to seek "subject inspiration" beyond magazine photos. Maybe I'll have to start listening.

If you missed my initial write up on Jim Fiscus, click here.

Comments are welcome. And as always, enjoy.

Charlie Watts

In the mid-1980's, an intoxicated Mick Jagger phoned Charlie Watt's hotel room in the middle of the night asking where "his drummer" was. Watts, the quiet, reserved and mega-talented fellow member of The Rolling Stones, reportedly got up, shaved, dressed in a suit, descended the stairs and punched Jagger directly in the face, saying, "Don't ever call me 'your drummer' again. You are my f___ing singer!"

Charlie Watts is far more than a drummer for a legendary rock band. He's also a talented graphic artist (starting his career in advertising, thank you), an award-winning composer, and a collaborator on several highly successful jazz/big band records. One of which, Long Ago & Far Away (1996), captivated me. Here are a few samples.

But what perhaps impresses me the most about Charlie Watts is that through all the tours with The Rolling Stones, all the all-nighters, and all the partying, he is legendary for remaining faithful to his wife, Shirley, whom he met and married in 1964. Together, they have one daughter, Seraphenia, as well as a baby granddaughter.

I have never met Charlie Watts nor toured with a rock band, but I would imagine that he and I would both agree that some of our best produced works are our children. This painting is one of my first ... and very favorite.

Fiscus in Progress

Here's a work-in progress of Jim Fiscus. See my previous posting on him for more about the man. Hopefully, I'll have this one done in a few days. Or weeks.

I plan to have between 15 and 20 pieces, including this one, at my first gallery showing. It will be in the early part of next year in Delaware, Ohio.

Marilyn Completed

Just a follow up to my previous work-in-progress posting on Marilyn Monroe. This piece is 20"w by 16"h. I sketched it out many years ago. It only took me about two weeks to paint.

Well, 16 years and two weeks.

Up next: continue painting Jim Fiscus as well as sketch one of Jesus for Grace Point Church's teen room (should be very cool). I have come to find that artists are very ADD and enjoy working on multiple pieces at varying stages simultaneously. 

Meg Ryan

You know the scene at the end of When Harry Met Sally. Billy Crystal is walking alone in New York City, realizing that he's truly, hopelessly fallen in love with Meg Ryan. The story is so convincing that every guy in the theater had already fallen moments prior. (Go on, click the link. The "build" is worth every bit of the seven minutes.) And you know, Meg Ryan isn't drop-dead gorgeous. She's just real. Or at least Nora Ephron totally convinced us so for two hours. She reminded us that love is not about being together under the sheets. It's about being together over years. Laughing. Crying. Growing. It's about the stuff that matters ... and what we remember. Oh, and just to clarify, my "Sally" is Pamela.

Isabella Rosselini

She is the daughter of legendary actress Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca) and Italian director Roberto Rossellini. And by the time she was 28, Isabella Rossellini was the exclusive spokes model for Lancome and had worked with the likes of Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon (see my first posting), Robert Mapplethorpe, Norman Parkinson, and Helmut Newton. But she is much more than a pretty face. Today, Rossellini is an activist for wildlife and conservation issues, as well as a writer and co-producer of several short-film series. Her talent comes from within. And it shows.

My portrait of her is one of my first. Truth be told, I never liked it.
I thought it was plain and devoid of character. But many who saw it just loved the piece. They would say, "Isabella Rossellini! You really captured her ... in very few lines." And over the years, I must confess that she is capturing me in return. Her inner beauty is emerging. In a recent article on how she is going back to school to study animal behavior (so very cool) she said, "If you follow your heart and do what you like, there's a better chance that that is where your talent lies."

Smart. Beautiful. Love it.

Marilyn

Artists love Marilyn Monroe. Warhol is a good example.
And yet I believe that the best photos of her are the natural ones. No posing. No studio session. No fakeness. She defined natural beauty. And we consumed her with our obsession for pretty.
(A beautiful deer staring precious seconds too long into the headlights of an oncoming car.) I found this shot years ago in a Nike ad and loved it. (Thank you, Janet Champ and Jim Riswald at Wieden+Kennedy.) I did a little research and found that it was taken of her after a long day on the movie set. Wrapped in a terry cloth robe, leaning out the window of her dressing room for a bit of fresh air. Click. And she still looks radiant. If you open the pic above you can see my pencil sketches ... almost done.

Philip Johnson

What an extraordinary life and talent. You may not have ever heard of Philip Johnson, but there's a good chance you may have experienced his work. In 1956, he collaborated with Mies van der Rohe as the New York associate architect for the 39-story Seagram Building. It would be his first of several postmodern masterpieces that would adorn New York City. Others include the the AT&T Building (now the Sony Building) and the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. He perfected the harmony of glass and metal in structures. Still, it wasn't an overshadowing skyscraper that would be his masterpiece, but a small home in Connecticut. In 1949, Johnson designed and built a home for himself with exterior walls that were entirely glass. "The Glass House" (worth clicking the link) is an essay in minimal structure, geometry, proportion, and the effects of transparency and reflection. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997. The house was the place of Philip Johnson's passing in 2005 at the age of 98. After Johnson's death ownership of the Glass House passed to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which opened it to visitors in April 2007.

I painted this portrait of Johnson in May of '94. It was the first of what would become many 20"w x 24"h portraits. I just like the size. It creates a decent environment. As did Johnson.

My Reservoir of Possibilities

I just discovered my "reservoir" of possibilities: an overstuffed folder filled with pictures torn from magazines. I spent about an hour culling down the pile. What's left are about 18 portrait candidates, ranging from David Bowie to Georgia O'Keeffe to Johnny Cash to Walter Cronkite to Daniel Day-Lewis.

As I reviewed my 18 possibilites, I realized that my style has truly evolved. I started years ago by mimicing Patrick Nagel. His work was incredible and perfectly captured the sexiness and energy of the 80's. He died too young. But now I have gravitated to faces with more character. Wild hair. Wrinkles. Zesty expressions. There's one of Keith Richards that's begging to be produced.

Heck, with that criteria, he may be my masterpiece.