Susan Boyle - Wow!

I can't tell you how impressed I am with this YouTube video of Susan Boyle, dated 11 Apr 2009. I _love_ her attitude. The audience's reaction is _very_ instructive. Very cool.

Photo Shoot: Peter and the Lame Man

Last night we had another photo shoot, this one creating reference material for an illustration for Acts 3, the story of Peter and the man lame from birth. My wife provided marvelous help as two men and one boy from our church sat under the lights. The results were excellent; it was also one of the most spiritual shoots I've had. Now for the post production work -- Photoshop and oils. I'll post photos of my progress later.

This makes eight paintings I now have in some degree of development, a record for me. It also includes five studies of Abraham Lincoln. Now all I need to do is find the time -- or use my time more wisely -- to finish them.

Yay!

Sand Art Video -- Wonderful!

My brother sent me this link to a sand art video on YouTube by Ilana Yahav. It is titled "You've Got a Friend." Very well done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIOsIbqpR5s

New Online Painting: John the Beloved

I've just placed online a photo of my latest painting, John the Beloved.

The painting is 17X24", oil on Masonite, and depicts John, Jesus' beloved disciple, on his way to do the work of the Lord, looking toward the light.

He holds a pot, symbolizing his capacity to accept and carry the Holy Spirit and his ability to pour it out on others. The rope symbolizes his life. One end trails off the bottom of the picture, showing that his life would not end until Christ's work was done.

I hope to enter this shortly in the annual Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition. Results posted later. Wish me luck!

Studio Incamminati Followup

The class at Studio Incamminati in Philadephia was very good. It was a challenging re-appraisal of the basic tenets of color theory and modeling, based on the philosophies of Nelson Shanks, the founder and artistic director, and Henry Hensche. The studio fills two floors of a building in downtown Philly, and the walls are covered with gorgeously lit and colored and modeled interpretations of still lifes and the human figure. You could also tour the faculty offices, including Nelson Shanks space, with a huge figure painting. Marvelous.

The focus of the class was to introduce students to the techniques and methods used in later programs. Very quick, very intense. Very patient teachers; a great deal of humbling was required on my part.

Hensche's philosophies on color were transformative, even at my very basic level of exposure. I've painted for years, using the standard color pallets of the Renaissance, updated by modern media. At SI they laid out 21 colors – absolutely luscious looking oils – around the rim of an 18x24” palette. No black, of course, but a lot of titanium white. Instead of flesh tones from alizarin crimson, yellow ochre, and white, for instance, we used cadmium green and cadmium orange. Wow. Beautiful.

I appreciated the chance to be there. I've never seen a more devoted faculty. I learned a lot – dipped my toe in, actually, but a door was opened. Very cool.

Web Site Renovation Completed

I finished updating my Web site, glad to have it with a modern look and modern technology. It includes an RSS link to this blog and extensive use of CSS, as well as updates to my resume' and background pages.

More importantly, it includes recent works and gallery shows, with references to the Illustration Master class and Studio Incamminati. Very good; glad to have it done. I believe it to be a major improvement.

lesteryocum.com Lives!

My Web site is back online again. I took down the Coppermine site I'd had up earlier because it didn't meet basic criteria, especially easy linking to images. I have much updating to do to it, but the basics are there again. More good stuff to come.