Thursday, December 4, 2008

The snake hunter




This is James, done alla prima from life in one session yesterday. He's Australian and has that same charm, accent, and outgoingness as the late Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. (Don't you love that expression, "late"? Like, late for what? A party? A dentist appointment? Life??) James, however, catches venomous snakes for a living. Oy, those Ozzies! Not sure what he's doing in Colorado at the moment, though, besides being an art model.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great work here Jala. It looks like every brush stroke was placed just where you wanted it and produced a very fresh and natural portrait.
Maybe starting with that loose drippy background is a good way to keep from tightening up and over thinking.

http://www.onpainting.wordpress.com said...

Good head study - I like everything about it.

Jala Pfaff said...

Thanks! I wasn't thrilled about how the color came out--it's a new palette for me--but other than that was very pleased with it. I especially liked the sort of proud head angle, which I feel I captured correctly.

Jala Pfaff said...

Thanks, Bonnie! I love the loose drippy background thing--that's something our teacher, Michelle Philip, has us do, though her reasoning is that if you don't have time to paint in any background color (and who does, in these 2.5-hr. sessions?!), then "at least you have an something interesting to look at." :)