Thursday, January 10, 2008

Reverend Billy Graham

Reverend Billy Graham portrait
An oil portrait of the Reverend Billy Graham, in progress.

First off let me assure you that the great Billy Graham has not died. I've been painting so many Catholic portraits as of late I felt I should balance things out with at least one nice Protestant.

I think I have Bob Ross disease. More often I catch myself thinking while painting-well, that's a happy little earlobe! or that's a happy tie! which must be because I'm painting quickly; the first application of oil in the painting above was completed in about five hours or so. The only drawback to my fast painting technique is that it requires (the smallest amount possible, because I detest the stuff) of linseed oil. It helps with paint flow, but it retards drying time like crazy, which inhibits my accustomed 'sfumato' or layering technique. For Billy I'm experimenting with a faster drying oil, so we'll see how the painting surface 'feels' in the morning.

wet painting on easel

Painting on easel in an earlier state.



Painting in the studio far from the tendrils of the internet has re-introduced me to the world of talk radio. Our own local host Jason Lewis is probably my favorite (he's filled in for Rush a few times recently over the holidays) in addition to the nationally syndicated Mark Levin, who I imagined as a Sammy Davis Jr. impersonator until the first time I heard him scream at someone. I seem to learn the most from these two, although today on Jason's show I learned that Catholic league president Bill Donohue is under the mistaken impression that our own Archbishop Flynn is a conservative. I believe the Archbishop would take that as an insult.

Speaking of our own local Catholic community, Martha the secretary at St. Agnes was good enough to procure for me a copy of the 2003-2004 St. Agnes church directory, which contains this picture of the rarely photographed (he hates it) Father Robert Altier (and, I can't mention this enough, celebrant at my and the original Faithmouses wedding a decade or two ago)-

Minnesota priest Father Robert Altier

Happy to make this available for wider internet distribution. Click above for larger image.

Would make for a nice oil painting...

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