Jane Ellefson: January 2014

Friday, January 3, 2014

Portrait of Tom Rowe

In Autumn of 2012 I was commissioned to do a painting for Tom Rowe's 60th birthday. It was, in a word, ambitious. I was asked to capture the many facets of Tom - family man, Christian, structural engineer - on one canvas. Here is the progress of that painting which was presented to Tom during his 60th celebration on December 29, 2013. Happy Birthday, Tom!!

Still life set-up

Initial drawing

Studio with assembled still life and drawing

Underdrawing on prepared linen panel

Greenish-umber imprimatura

Beginning glazes

More glazing

Artist statement

I enjoy working in both realism and abstraction. With both, I begin with a carefully constructed composition, using the Golden Mean as a way to achieve perfect balance. My realistic work is reminiscent of Dutch or Spanish still lifes. I begin with a faithful rendering, then fully develop an underpainting with white and umber. In the final steps, I complete the painting with color glazes. When I work non-objectively, my focus is color, depth, and movement of advancing and receding shapes.