46"x46" oil on canvas ••• This is a big head. I painted three of these large scale "Dead Guy" portraits: Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, and Edgar Allan Poe. • Whilst all three of these historical giants are important to me, I will openly avow to any pour soul who wanders within earshot that the man you see above is the one I admire most. My strong admiration and respect made for a rather intense drawing session in preparation for the painting—you don't take painting a portrait of your hero lightly. (This is probably one of the reasons I have never successfully painted a portrait of my late father.) You can bet that the drawing under all that goo is as dead-on as I could make it. • In a futile attempt to head off all the "Where are my detail shots of this painting?" emails, I can only offer this explanation: One cannot shoot detail shots of a piece that one no longer has. President Lincoln was never shown in public and his sale caught me a bit off guard, so my chemically addled brain did not think to take a bunch of detail shots before he left. I would say that I am sorry for the photographic omission, but the joy of selling the piece to somebody who will truly appreciate it kind of pushed the thought of saying, "I'm sorry" right out of my mind. Happiness can do that to a person.
Posted January 19, 2017
sold • private collection beverly hills, ca
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