Child's Work

"A Child's Work" - oil on canvas, of my son playing with Lego's. This painting was "after" but is not a literal copy of a photo that I staged and lit, of my son playing with toy dinosaurs. This one may be my most popular painting - or at least one people bring up years later. A key is the undertone burnt umber painting of the light on the floor, on top of which colors make the rug real, and the many depth queues; vanishing lines, reducing tile size, horizontal light bands, gradual shadowing, and depth of focus ( I softened the background to emphasize the visual focus on the foreground). I had to study a book on perspective to figure out how to properly diminish the tiles with distance.

This painting was inspired by a visit to the National Gallery where I saw a Thomas Eakin painting of a small boy playing with a ball.  I figured I could do something in a similar feeling.  

This won awards in my company art show as well an inaugural city art show which gave me the ridiculous title "Palm Bay Artist of the Millennium". There can be only one.