Patrick Kernan
(Portland, OR)

Angie: Inner Strength, watercolor and conté pencil, 22" x 14" x 0"s

All of my work is done entirely from the live model. I begin with rough sketches to get to know the figure, and in a real sense, getting to know the model. I think about what is it about this person at this time in this pose that speaks to me. I may be drawn to the way the hand drapes over arm of the chair. Or that the way the clavicle flows into the shoulder and then down through the elbow is beckoning me because it's telling me how all of the parts of this person are working together place the person in the world at this time. If things are going well I find I reach a state where my conscious mind fades away and I establish a direct link between my eye and my hand. From there I'm free to move around and capture the parts that really describe the figure, the person.