I will show Jeremy's work too - I took lots of in progress pieces and notes. But for now this one is mine. 12 x 9 on panel.
So, in my hubris, I really thought we had a lot in common. We have the same influences, similar taste, similar age, and similar finish (sometimes). I thought that I'd go there and Jeremy would have the missing pieces of my puzzles which would fit neatly into the voids I'd already identified. And Poof! All fixed.
Yeah..... so that's definitely not what happened. As it turns out, we are complete opposites in every way I could think of. First, he's really tall - like 6'3" or something. I am dinky. He's really quiet - I had to staple my lips together. He doesn't draw out the figure except to measure head distances horizontally and vertically, then a midline. He uses titanium white. His flesh mixtures were ultra blue + burnt sienna + white on day one, and cad orange + viridian + white on day 2. He uses sable badgers. He is unconcerned with the likeness. He uses an open palette.
Wow! So basically every thing I thought I had settled, he unsettled for me. But, being determined to wring every penny from my entrance fee, I gave it all a shot. Um - I did have to wipe out the composition 6 times on the first day, but after a while it worked. And at the end, not having my usual outside-in drawing tripped me up a little, but I fixed it. Wow! Talk about your out-of-comfort-zone experiences.
This has very much invigorated me, and I hope to go back next year. Our differences really shone a light on some glaring inadequacies and opportunities in my work. It was a very exciting 3 days. Also, he is a nice man, in fact his whole family is kind and friendly - I'd recommend this experience to anyone.
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20 x 16, oil on canvas, day 1.
