Name Inflation

Hanging out with legends of the portrait painting tradition: Michael Shane Neal (standing) and Everett Raymond Kinstler.

This followed a presentation that discussed Howard Chandler Christy, James Montgomery Flagg, Charles Dana Gibson, and John Singer Sargent. Hmm, I think I need a third name.

Three-Hour Portrait

The opening event of the Portrait Society Conference is the Faceoff, where 15 artist paint from 5 models over a 3 hour period.

Joseph Daily by James Gurney

I had the pleasure of painting Joseph Daily, a portrait artist himself. I worked in oil, 12 x 16 inches.

It was fun to work next to another artist I admire, Mario Robinson, who recently published an excellent book on book on classical portrait painting in watercolor.

Business Breakfast

We're at the Portrait Society Conference in Washington, DC.

I paint two guys discussing business over breakfast. I using black and white gouache in a watercolor sketchbook. (Link to video on Facebook)

A Chat with a School Bus Driver

(Link to video on Facebook) Driving through Maryland we noticed the school buses parked behind this house. It still had an old TV antenna on top.

In the video, you can hear the voice of Cindy, who hung out with us for a while and told us what it was like to drive the buses.

Portrait Society This Weekend

I'm doing a few oil copies to get in practice for the Portrait Society Conference in Washington, DC this week. This is based on Velazquez's portrait of Miguel Angelo, the barber to the Pope.

Here's my Portrait Society schedule:
Thursday April 19: 4:30p–7:30pm Artist-to-Artist Face-Off
Friday, 9:00a–10:00a. Composition: The Eye, the Mind, and the Story.
Saturday, 10:30a–12:30p. Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist

After that I'll be doing an event at the Yellow Barn Studio in Glen Echo, Maryland. 

That event will take place on April 22nd from 5:00pm – 8:00pm, and will include two lectures and a demo. There may still be some spots available.

Painting a Red Mazda on Location

My car needs a tuneup, so I leave it off at the dealership. I make a cup of coffee and sit down at the edge of the showroom.


A red Mazda MX-5 Miata RF is parked in the middle, facing out toward the light. (Link to video on YouTube) Two or three hours? Time enough for a quick painting.


I choose a page in my sketchbook with an insistent yellow casein underpainting. It challenges me to cover every area of the picture with opaque gouache.

This scene has a brighter range of values than most scenes. The light outside is very bright compared to the dark areas on the car. To capture that I have to bleach the lights and make the darks darker than they appear.
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Get your Gear On
Gouache tutorial available at Sellfy and Gumroad.
How to Make a Sketch Easel
Pentalic 5" x 8" Aqua Journal
M. Graham gouache set
Pocket plein air brush set