Have a safe and...

Upcoming show at Hopper House

I will be curating a show at Hopper House of some of the figurative work we've done in the drawing workshops, and am very excited about it. Drawing weekly has helped me to keep my skills sharp for court art, but also gives me the opportunity to meet and work beside other artists in the community- in Edward Hopper's house, no less. There will be a reception Dec. 6- details will follow regarding time- those in the area, please stop by and see the show in December. Or come by and draw with us on Thursday evenings, 7:30-10. Click here for more info on that.

Kamin tribunal at Guantanamo Bay

I'm a little behind with posting to the blog.. so will catch up in increments. This is from last week's trip to Cuba. I had gone to draw the Canadian detainee Omar Khadr on Wednesday- see my earlier posting. That has been bumped until January 26th, so it's good I went and captured a recent image of this very important trial.
Since I was already on premises, the opportunity to capture any court activity is something I would not pass up. I had missed Ghailani, which went on at the same time as Khadr. However, the Kamin case came up Thursday. He chose not to attend the tribunal, so you see an empty chair, and the witness is one of the soldiers testifying about his behavior and lack of attendance. From there, very strong arguments were set forth by both sides. The biggest issue always seems to be about information- lacking, transparency, etc.
A reminder to check out Miami Herald's coverage of Guantanamo and the Defense Link site for up to date information.

Omar Khadr motions in Guantanamo

I'm in Guantanamo Bay Cuba with Michelle Shepard of Toronto Star ( check out her book on Omar Khadr "Guantanamo's Child'- Embassy's top 20 most influential books of the year) and Omar El Akkad of Globe and Mail. Thier companies sent me to sketch Omar's motion hearing today.

Latest Hopper House session

Just a few studies from last week's session. I head to Guantanamo Bay to do some more court sketches, flying out Tuesday and in court Wednesday and Thursday. I will be posting the work so keep an eye out!

Hopper Figure drawing, Oct 10, 2008

Another drawing session at Hopper House, feeling kind of rusty and not really 'on' but that's exactly why I should be doing this.
The model has a very Rubinesque quality and the energy high with plenty of people drawing. I really enjoy it and feel that
being able to draw in Edward Hopper's house is truly a privilege.

Author Norman Maclean for WSJ

This was commissioned by Wall Street Journal, Books section- a portrait of author Norman Maclean, who is probably best known for his book 'A River Runs Through It'. I feel honored, as this particular book was a family favorite, and my grandfather was an avid fly fisherman. I was asked to do a portrait with an organic edge, and decided to work in the river/fishing element. Because it is a small piece, the larger face was chosen. I adjusted the final to make his expression to be more open- it felt too severe in the sketch.