Painting at the Old Brogue, Day Three and Progress

Make sure you check out both of my posts from today. (This one and the one about winning Best in Show in the Art League's 'scapes show.)

My "Painting the Town" exhibit is now over. (I'm sad about that.) This post got lost in the shuffle of my disrupted life. (House renovations, move, camping out, picking out plumbing fixtures, etc.)  But, here it is.

I painted for three days at the Old Brogue while my "Painting the Town" show was up. On day one, I painted two women enjoying tea. On day two, I painted my mom and five of her Stratford House friends having lunch. While I was in there painting on day two, a fellow Old Brogue patron inquired about my painting her three sons in the same corner as my tea ladies. We decided to make it a date, and her sons showed up the next morning.

When I got there at around 9:30am, a group of people were sitting in the corner and fellow artists from Great Falls Studios were gathered from what I wanted to be my vantage point for their regular Thursday morning get-together. I was supposed to be painting at 10am. (That wasn't going to work.) Colleen and her sons showed up right before 10 and they grabbed the corner seat and I kept working on my setup. The scariest part was not having my bag with brushes and some of my supplies. If life wasn't in an uproar, I would have been better prepared. I managed to find one brush ... a little one. Still, a too-small-brush was a whole lot better than trying finger painting.

By the time I was set up, the guys had already eaten and now were left to hang out in the spot for me to capture them. I occasionally took photos -- but every time I pulled out my camera, they'd all pay attention to me instead of each other. Not what I wanted. The youngest was in constant motion. Really. When I pulled up the photos on my computer, it was hysterical. Like a mini motion picture. I honestly have no idea how I even attempted this. What's funny too is that I was only vaguely aware at the time of just how much activity was taking place. I was focusing on one part or person at a time, composing, getting a sense of the whole scene. The main evidence of difficulty is that the youngest son had a few heads on my canvas. I decided to wait until later to pick the right photo to retrofit him into the scene. I had to think about it.

All three days were so much fun. Each day was a painting start, with much more time to be put in later from photo references and memory in order to finish them. All were done without asking anyone to be still and when each "party" was over I would continue to paint in the spot, then concentrating on the walls, table, dishes, etc. The Brogue is such a pleasant place to be. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to other visitors and the Brogue staff about my show, this painting, the process, etc. I think it was good for their business, too. Certainly intriguing to customers. I was in there painting, while someone else is writing on their laptop, reading a newspaper, catching up with friends, taking a break.

Painting in this natural a setting and situation is a much different experience, too, than painting from a photo reference. It was less about getting the drawing down for one split second. I acted more slowly. Feeling my way and capturing the passage of time. So much more interesting.

I've included a series of shots here, from a sketch when the guys were still in their seats to one a few hours after they left to the painting after I'd worked on it more for a few days from photos and memories. I still have a lot of work to do -- and it's a poor photo, but wanted to post anyway. (Sometimes I can't help myself.) I hope you enjoy.

And, if you are a restaurant owner or know one who may be interested in having me paint on location there, email me. I'll try to bring my brushes next time.

"Untitled" work in progress, oil on Senso linen, 16"h x 20"w, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435