"The Poker Game": Day One

"The Poker Club" work in progress, oil on linen, 30"h x 40"w, ©Jill Banks 2011

I will have to write another post (not tonight) about Randy modeling for my last day of Portrait class.

But, tonight I started painting my Dad and his poker buddies. Version One of the Fall/Winter group. I wasn't sure how this would work  -- but it did. I broke all sorts of my own rules to speed up getting a lot of the background in there. I resorted to using Turpenoid (odorless mineral spirits) to cover a big area -- fast. This abbreviated poker club group had a bunch of rules to follow -- like very clean language in the company of yours truly. They held it together pretty well.

I went with a very large canvas (30"h x 40"w) -- because I figured each head would be small enough. I'd like to work larger still -- but working from life -- the width of the canvas obscures your view. The image that comes to mind is the Norman Rockwell painting with him peering from being the canvas. Imagine trying to paint the right side from all the way on the left. (No, you can't peer sometimes from the right and sometimes from the left. The perspective on the drawing would be way off.

My dad & mom with me (the smocked one) in the background

I am truly appreciative to Pepper, Wade, Stanley, Frank, Russ, Walt and my Dad -- for agreeing to be part of my experiment and play poker two times this week. The only one missing from the painting -- so far -- is my Dad who had his back to me. I'll look through some of the photos I took tonight to figure out where to place him in the scene. I will definitely be painting a draft of the chips and cards on the table from photos -- to be adjusted, from life, next week.

To Frank: the name of the painting is not official yet.

Exhibits & Events

Expressions Portrait Exhibit at ArtSpace Herndon, November 1 through 27.  "Tranquility" was chosen as one of the finalists. 750 Center Street, Herndon, VA.

American Artists Professional League 83rd Grand National,Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Avenue, NYC, Nov. 1-11. "Alan" was juried into the show.

To read more about the 100 Faces in 100 Days project on my web site (www.jillbanks.com), go to the 100 Faces Project Pages 1 and 2 where you can see all 100 of my volunteers. Click on the paintings, and go to my blog post for that person's sitting.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 1 (faces 1-54): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 2 (faces 55-100): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project_2.html
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