Artist at Work

Here I am in my studio today working on this portrait of a young Hawaiian woman. I am using photos so she doesn't have to sit and pose for me, which is not my favorite way to work. It's a fine line between not being slavish to the photos, and distorting the image in annoying ways that are hard to fix. I want to be like Gauguin who referenced photos but was very free in his interpretations.

My studio is actually a big greenhouse (agricultural) building with a plastic roof. I had to paint that chevron design all over it to keep myself from baking in the summer months. My friend Alaina says the feng shui is awful, but I like it.