Dad

 I was doing lighting tests this morning for a little project I am working on.  My Dad (Hank) was nice enough to be my model and sit for some portraits... Thanks Dad!  Lookin' Good!

Keep Makin' Art!
Carl

Portraits of my Great Nephews

Wenderina worked down in the Washington DC area this week..... this gave us an excuse to visit our Niece and her family in Virginia. Always one of our favorite places to hang out for family time. I headed down on Friday afternoon and packed some of my photo gear so i could have a quick portrait session with to of my favorite subjects... Little Man A and BBZ.

How cute are these two guys together!

BBZ showed great patience and smiled the whole time as we did a series of solo shots.

I can not believe how fast Little Man A is growing. Everytime we see him he is bigger!

Another visit that went by way too fast! Hopefully we'll get down to visit again in a few months. This visit was well worth putting off working on paintings for a few days. There will be more shots later this week of Little Man A at the park.

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Be prepared to be spontaneous??

I took this Portrait of my Great-Nephew "Little Man A" as he is called.

He is a great little guy! This pose was a bit of a happy accident. Something happened off camera right and he looked in wonder at what was going on. I was able to get this great profile shot of him. He has grown a lot in the 6 months or so since this shot. I'll need to take more portraits this spring!

I posted this image because it represents a theory that is becoming a grounding principle in all of my art be it painting or photography (or cooking for that matter). Preparation is the key to success. It is counter-intuitive I know, but the I find the best way to be ready for the spontaneous, crazy, happy accidents that make great art is to plan and prepare. I used to think the exact opposite that you needed to just roll with it and see what happens. I got this idea from how spontaneous and free looking the best watercolors are. As I painted more and more and realized just how many variables affect a watercolor painting and by having the color pre-mixed, a good drawing done and a value sketches figured out you can be there in the moment when the colors and the water mingle in just the right way and give you a chance to make that masterpiece. I guess Einstein was right when he said.."Genius is 99% hard work and 1% Luck,"

As I am writing this I guess it really applies to just about everything in life. What do you think?

Keep Painting (or photographing)

Carl