Albert Einstein - Finished!

I had almost two hours to kill in a waiting room this morning, so I brought my art supply toolbox and the Einstein piece that I showed in progress last week. It was nice to be able to relax with my artwork for a change, rather than having to do something for someone else on deadline. This was one of those rare occasions when I could just do my thing, with nothing else in mind. I usually pick at my work, and make small adjustments even after it's "finished," and right now I see some things I could have done a bit better. However, in this case, I think I'll let it stand as is.



You might notice the increased details, added contrast for depth, and especially, that I fixed that wandering eye Albert had in my previous version. I don't have the opportunity to do ink washes very often, so this was fun!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Best,
Rich

In Progress: Einstein Portrait

Last November, my wife and I had a little weekend getaway on Shelter Island, which is a small island just north of East Hampton, NY, on Long Island. While there, I began this ink wash piece of Albert Einstein. Ironically, this was created within miles of where Einstein spent a number of summers.

However, that piece of information never crossed my mind until just this moment, as I was trying to think of something interesting to write. On that note, here's the work:



I plan to add quite a bit more contrast and depth to it, and I'm hoping that by posting it, I'll force myself to commit to completing it!

I hope you have a nice weekend!

Best,
Rich

Me, My self(-portrait), and I...

So, it's been pointed out to me (Hi Brian!) that it's been over a month and a half since my last post, so I thought I'd do a quick one today, while my son naps.

It's been a really crazy month or so. My wife and I both freelance out of our home offices, so when one of us is working, the other is doing the childcare. When both of us are working, well, things become somewhat problematic, and that's when all free time flies out the window. As we've both been really busy of late, the juggling act has been constant, and between her work travel, and my teaching, there hasn't been too much time for extra activities of any kind. Hence the delay here.

However, we did manage to sneak away for a weekend a couple of weeks ago, just for some quiet relaxation. We went to a place called Shelter Island, which is between the North and South Forks of Long Island, where I grew up. While we were there, we happened upon a small gallery called Wish Rock Studio which is owned by a guy named Peter Waldner, and his wife Sandy. Peter is a syndicated cartoonist, and does a very funny strip called Flight Deck, found in a number of major newspapers. He's also a heck of a nice guy. He and I talked about the possibility of having me show some of my work in his gallery next year. That would be pretty cool.

That night, I also did something I hadn't done in a while. I drew just for the sake of drawing. It's very hard to find time these days to draw just for pleasure. Most of the time, when I finish work I'm really not in the mood to do more drawing, as it feels like a continuation of my work day. About a year ago I was doing a demo of ink wash techniques for my students at DCAD, and started a self-portrait in class, which I always intended to finish but never did. Well, on this trip I spent a couple of hours finishing the piece, below, and also working on another portrait, which I'll post at a later date. Here's the self-portrait:



This piece will be the new homepage image for my website. That's another reason I've been slow to post lately. Any free time I've had has been spent on doing a much-needed revamp to my website. I'll be posting the update on that soon as well.

I'll try to check in again soon with new art. Thanks for stopping by!

Best,
Rich