When I was painting "The Ironman," I realized that this photo of Parker really captured a time in his and my life that was special. I've decided to use this same photo to document Parker in a large painting titled, "Parker's Pear."


As with all my oil paintings, I first sketch the image on the canvas and then begin applying thin layers of oil pigment, trying to match what I think will be the final color and value. I always end up adjusting everything in the final layer of paint, but I try to get there in my first passage. Here, I blocked in the sky and then sketched in some rough oil washes for his head.


This seven foot high canvas is too large to use the top clamp on my easel, so I removed the clamp and attached the stretcher bars to the easel with a bungee cord on the back of the canvas.


I've continued to fill the canvas with large thin washes of oil paint, defining the pear, the sand, the ocean and the sky. I also inserted a pail and shovel into his hands. You can see the photo of Parker attached to the edge of the canvas for reference.


The entire canvas has had one layer of oil pigment, roughly outlining the final image.

Working up on a ladder is a little tricky, and in the past, I have worked on a custom scaffold system that I attached to the nine foot ceiling in my studio. If you look in the photo above, you will see that I've put an altered microphone stand on top of a rolling taboret. The little tabletop that I've built to fit on the microphone stand serves as an adjustable palette. Since I am working off the top rung of the stepstool, I've attached an additional safety feature to steady me while I paint.

Here you can see that I've attached an adjustable strap to the two wood supports on the ceiling, giving me a stable stance and therefore a stable painting hand. I'm beginning to put the final layer of paint on the canvas.

Starting with Parker's head, I'll define and detail each area, enhancing with color and contrast.

I've finished Parker's head and golden locks. If you compare this photo with the initial photo of the first layer of paint, you'll see that I've increased the pink glow of his cheeks and softened the passages of paint between dark and light areas.

Here's a close-up of his finished shovel and hands. The shovel has warm hues placed in the shaded areas that have the sun shinning through the red plastic.

I've also softened the transition of light to dark on his left arm. It's hard to remember when my skin was that smooth!

Well, his head, both arms and shovel are finished. I'll continue to work down the canvas, painting Parker and the pear until I can stand on the floor. Then I'll head back up the ladder to paint the sky, ocean and sand.

When I photographed Parker, I had him standing on the lawn in his backyard, not thinking that I was needing to see the details of his feet. Since his feet are large in this large painting, I needed a little more information to get the anatomy correct. Working through a series of text messages, my son-in-law, Parker's dad, saved me a trip down the freeway by photographing Parker's feet. He did a great job and now I can move on down the painting...Thanks Steve!

This photo was taken from up on my stepstool, looking back down at my palette(s). I've made a small palette out of a sheet of glass and put duct tape around the edges to protect my fingers. If you look past the portable palette, you can see my everyday palette/taborette on wheels. I mixed all the necessary colors needed to paint Parker's legs down on the 'everyday' palette and transfered them to my portable palette with a palette knife.

Legs and feet are in place. I've pumped up the color by adding a little more cadmium red to the shaded areas and in the intermediate areas of the legs.

The bucket, although a simple object, has some interesting areas on it. The area struck by the sunlight is the brightest value of green and a little on the cool side. It is painted with a mixture of Thalo green, cadmium yellow and burnt sienna. The outside of the bucket is also a slighly cooler green and considerably darker because its angle slants away from direct contact with the sun. Then, the area of the bucket where the sun goes inside of it and the transparent plastic pail becomes a very warm green on the outside.

The ocean was painted with a combination of white, thalo blue, French ultramarine blue and cadmium yellow. It is applied fairly thick and will take at least a week to dry.

In order to get ready to paint Parker's shirt, I premix all the shades of white and gray and blue that I will need.

Here is a look at my portable glass palette with the mixed oil pigments.

I've painted his shirt, indicating some of the warmer reflective hues in the folds.

I made his shorts a warmer red-orange, separating it from the color of his shovel.

Parker and all his accoutrements are finished. Now on to the pear, the sky, and the sand.

I've worked the pear, modeling various hues of red, made with alizaron crimson, cadmium red, cadmium yellow, burnt sienna, ivory black and Permalba white.

The pear is 100% darker than before, both in hue and value. This will allow me to darken the sand which will highlight the right side of the pear where the sun hits.

Unable to light such a large canvas properly, here is the final of "Parker's Pear."