The Fisherman (Willie's Portrait)

Oils on Canvas.

This is a painting I started in the Fall of 2011, in Willie's backyard, with him posed, sitting on the boat. It took weeks to finish it out there in nature. It seemed like the weather was against us, as it rained most days. Also, we continually tried to get out there before 8 A.M. every morning to be ready for when the sunlight was at its best. For a window of about an hour and a half most of the boat was lit and the golden leaves in the background burned brightest. Of course, when we chose this spot, I liked it for the colors of the fence, the interesting sense of space and light that surrounded the boat itself and the vibrant colors of the autumn leaves on the two most colorful tress. Also, the houses in background seemed very Hopper-esque to me, so I enjoyed that aspect as well. Now, a little about Willie. Willie is a good friend of mine and a very friendly guy. I had been wanting to paint a portrait that was more than just a face, and actually said something about the person in the portrait. Well, Wille is a religious man, and two things that really speak to him are the Bible and fishing, so of course, I have him sitting on his boat outside, reading his Bible while I painted him. Originally, the two of us were going to go fishing after we finished the painting, so one of those poles would have been mine, but I found it interesting that, to the average viewer, they would see two fishing poles and only one person. Well, if you don't mind the religious side of the painting, you could say that one of those poles belong to God. I think that, considering Willie, that is a nice way to look at it. Overall, I am happy with the painting, especially since it is the first outdoor painting I have painted with a live model.