New member from Michigan
 

Hello Everyone. I am glad to be finally a member of this fine group. Several years ago I began to benefit from and enjoy looking through the various messages/images on the forums. However, I didn't want to apply for membership until I finished authoring a technical reference book and until I had the time to write the code for my own web page. Well, the book has been out for a few years and the web page has just been finished. And, I now have much more time to paint. I am looking forward to participating in this forum. Here in the middle of Michigan in the country it is very peaceful, but there are not too many realistic portrait artists nearby to chat with! :)

Kenneth, welcome!

Nice to have you here. Being that you know all us here and we just now have the pleasure don't be shy.

Hello and Welcome.

I'm in the shop as much as the studio, so I enjoyed seeing the photo-schematics of your easel, taboret and ventilation system. Very resourceful. I'm coveting that tall taboret, and may have to set about making some modifications to mine, which is presently suitable for Hobbits.

I can't profess to keep my work space as tidy as yours, though.

Since you've been looking in for a long while, you're aware of the sine wave that describes the Forum activity. With the kids in school and the holidays yet distant, this may be a propitious time to jump in.

I don't recall if you mentioned on the website what kind of set-up you have for lighting. You might be willing the chat about that down in one of the "Studio" or "Equipment" threads. We're at a similar latitude, and it's beginning to get dark out there, so I'm re-thinking a lighting scheme that didn't work well for me last winter.

Cheers

Thanks for the welcome.

Steven, my lighting is very simple. I use two clamping 18 W Ott-lite lamps attached to the sides of the easel strongly supplemented by a smaller window facing the north as seen in on the the taboret shots on my site. This method of lighting works fairly well for me unless the day is very dark or the snow is very reflective! When working with live subjects, however, I often use early morning natural light from the east. To control the lighting, I will sometimes use cardboard to generate a window within a window.

Hi Kenneth, welcome,
as a newcomer I recommend that you take a look into the Works In Progress section. The WIP section was a great help for me when I came around.

Hi Ken,you've designed a great web site, welcome.

Hi and welcome!

Welcome to the forum, Kenneth! I love your new website! Your work is so different from that of many artists on this site, and that intrigues me. I think your composition and modeling of form looks very simple but is not as easy as it might seem to some people. In other words, to do this successfully you need to know exactly what you are doing, where to divide the planes, etc. I am hoping you will talk more about your thought process and work process.

Welcome to the forum
 

Kenneth your easel, taboret and ventilation are amazing! I am looking forward to your paintings posted here!