Figures

FIGURES

	"Jordan Sokol en Plein Air" oil 72 x 84 inches Contact Ryan for Availability View Large Image


	This Painting just received an Award of Exceptional Merit at the 2010 Portrait Society of America competition "The Young Art Historian (Kalisha Jacobson)" oil 42 x 48 inches Contact Ryan for Availability View Larger Image
There are many elements to this painting that make it significant to me. I staged this model, who is a young art historian, in a gallery surrounded by antiques. Every book, object and piece of furniture is an antique. The furniture is from France and the objecs from Hungary and Italy. This is to try and set an historical tone. I also wanted to enhance the narrative by surrounding her with elements of her chosen field of study. She is reading a book on Thomas Moran, with books next to her including The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed, the biography of J. Alden Weir, the biography of Edwin Austin Abbey, On Etching and Etchers by Joseph Pennell and a biography on Ernest Meissonier. All of these artists are big influences on me. Behind her hangs 3 paintings of mine to show work from my past. In the top left corner is a painting by Giacomo Favretto, my favorite Italian painter, to show where I am trying to go.

	"An Appreciation for the Process" oil 48 x 48 inches Contact Ryan for Availability View Larger Image


	"The Loneliness of Waiting" oil 40 x 70 inches Contact Ryan for Availability View Larger Image
The idea for this painting came at a time when I was experiencing some frustration with some goals I had set for myself that relied on other people to help them come to fruition. I felt I had done as much as I could to achieve the goals and I was left waiting to see if my efforts would yield the hoped for results. That is not a comfortable position for me to be in. During this time I made attempts to voice this frustration to a few friends and family, only to realize that it was impossible to explain to them what I was feeling. The thought came to me how lonely it can be to wait for things. In my case, the realization of goals. But for others it could be news from family, acceptance into school, a phonecall from someone you love, etc. So I hired this model, who always had so much expression in her face, and we searched around Florence together for the right setting to stage this painting. We settled on this spot in front of Casa di Dante in the heart of Florence. It was the perfect setting to isolate her and narrate that lonely sense. The old well anchored the painting perfectly and the mass of empty space around her isolated her in just the right way. And of course the emotion in her face was exactly what I was looking for.

	"The Hope of the Penitent" oil 18 x 30 inches SOLD View Larger Image
This painting started with the thought about youthful innocence and evolved as I thought about how that innocence leads often times to mistakes. Asking for forgiveness requires a significant amount of humility. And having a penitent attitude can often be associated with remorse and regret. But I wanted to focus on the hope that should be more associated with that humble, pentient attitude. The staging of the young model is simple. As complex and abstract as the concept of hope is, it was my intention to explain it as simply as I could through the emotion in her face.

	"Reclining Nude" Framed oil 12 x 22 inches Collection of David Sanderson View Larger Image

	"Reclining Nude" oil 12 x 22 inches Collection of David Sanderson View Larger Image

	"Cassandra, Nude Back View" oil "11 x 17 inches SOLD View Larger Image

	"Confidence and Humility" oil 8 x 16 inches SOLD View Larger Image

	"The Russian Shawl" oil 11 x 14 inches Contact Ryan for availability View Larger Image

	"Abbey Sleeping" oil 6 x 8 inches Collection of the Artist View Larger Image

	"Academic Study of Vanessa" oil Collection of the CAS View Larger Image

	"Study for Waiting, Casa di Dante, Florence, Italy" oil 16 x 28 inches Collection of the Artist View Larger Image