Happy New Year!

 Wishing you the best for 2026!

 

 

As an artist I try to "stretch my brushes" by trying new techniques, colors, designs, subjects, and stories. My last painting of 2025 utilized all of these and is one of my most ambitious paintings to date. 

 

My African paintings almost exclusively feature the wildlife of this continent. But, the people of Africa are an essential part of the story. A dear friend of mine from Kenya was eager to model for this piece.

 

First I wanted to come up with a unique way to tell the story. As I tossed and turned in bed to figure out a way to frame the story it came to me. Make the background all sepia toned. It would have a timeless feeling and my model would stand out. 

 

After that decision, all I had to get was reference photos of my model. She and her fiance came up to the house for dinner. She wore just what I needed for the vision for my painting. I took some 470 reference photos outside in late afternoon light and I had the basis for the piece. I would be making changes such as removing the short sleeves of the dress, removing fingernail polish and make-up, changing the bead color in places, changing the leg stance, and other details.

 

Once I got to this point in the painting I realized the sky was more gray than I wanted for the sepia toned background. I really liked how the clouds came out so decided to continue with the painting and pull the whole sepia feeling together in the background once the painting was dry.