Hey Evan here, hope your having an awesome day,
Back in 2005 I made a journey to the woods of upstate New York. I wanted to learn realistic portrait painting techniques with the master portrait painting artist, Daniel Greene. He’d done portrait paintings of public icons for the last 50 years. He himself was an icon to the portrait painting community.
Despite these attractive characteristics, I was deeply conflicted about picking up and moving to the middle of no where to study with him. Not to mention, I spent my savings on the deposit for the three week summer art workshop.
I arrived at a huge barn in posh green countryside. He had turned the entire barn into his portrait oil painting factory. It felt like 130 degrees inside, and if the industrial sized fan was on, you’d go deaf from the drone like humming. The black wood interior made it sucked all light away, beside for the strip of Northern facing sky lights 100 feet up.
I arrived with a knot in my stomach from spending ALL of my money on this single summer art workshop.
I had signed up for all 3 weeks, which I was excited about until…. they described that each week is a repetition of the last, so you really just bought one week and then time in front of the model for 2 weeks. After I signed the check I nearly vomited with self destruction.
Once registered for the 3 consecutive summer workshop weeks, I went to get my living arrangements settled. I drove through a labyrinth of streets and highways to find the local college. It was August, school was out, and not a person in site. I circled the dorms like a burglar when a quirky girl found me, took my money and handed me a plastic card to my room.
I swung the door open into an empty room with furniture stacked to the ceiling. I had a focet and no fridge. On my budget this was going to be interesting…
I collapsed on top the heap of furniture thinking why… WHY oh WHY? do I do this to myself, for what?…. in the overwhelming cocktail of negative emotions I found no answer to that day.
The first day, I arrived and had a protein powder and water breakfast. I was ready to work come hell or high water. We did pastel paintings all mornings and portrait oil paintings in the afternoons.
Nearly 70 people filled the barn, which now began to swelter like a brick oven. Beads of water fell from the tip of my nose, and salt singed the corners of my eyes.The week went by in slow motion.
We picked from a hat to assign easels. A firey lady offered to buy mine, I declined.
I lived off of cold turkey burgers, protien powder, and celery for the next two weeks.
By week two I could recite his portrait painting instructions word for word, they were delivered identically each time.
After working on my pastel painting for two weeks Mr. Greene came over to tell me a story… When he was a student he paid every last penny to take a summer workshop with a renowned painter, who told him this… “START OVER!”
My heart dropped to the floor and spine went limp. After all of that work, he wants me to START OVER?!?…. He went on to explain… “If your start is weak you are wasting your time.”
I peeled the sheet back and crumpled in a controlled rage. I dropped it in the trash as I took five outside to cool down. Once gathered I returned to my easel for the afternoon session.
The third and final week I setup for another pastel painting. I was relaxed and didn’t care so much. I tried making the best of my time left.
An ex banker named Richard came over and said “I’ll give you 500$ for that pastel”…. I figured he was messing with me, because it wasn’t even finished.
I continued working paying no attention. The next break he came over and stuffed a stack of bills in my palm. I lit up and thought, wow, he is serious. As I put finishing touches on it, a booming voice said “Don’t screw it up!”.
I said back to Richard, “It will cost you another $500 to get me to STOP working on it” with a huge smile on my face. He got the picture and smiled back. He proceeded to commission a painting from me.
The lady who had offered me 100$ for my spot now understood why I hadn’t moved.
A group ‘question and answer’ formed on the final day. We all had a chance to ask any questions. A man in the audience started with…
” Ah Mr. Greene, I would like to know how he got his paintings to look so three dimensional?” I turned flush red in front of the 70 plus attendees… Mr. Greene smiled then replied with a bowing gesture… “Why don’t you ask him yourself, he is right here…” pointing to me.
I reflect on this experience often. I learned so much that I still use in every piece I do today. I owe Mr. Greene a huge thank you for his gold rush of covetted knowledge that he shared with me. I am truly grateful for the good and the bad. I would do it again in a heart beat.
Wishing you great paintings,
Evan P.
