dan

full

face

Dan, 10" x 14", oil on linen

Dan Acosta, one of my very favorite models to work with, is back in my studio. One of my portrait students is painting Dan, and I'm working alongside. Here's a two hour sketch. I think the reason that I like painting Dan so much is because he's such a wonderful, unpredictable blend of opposites. He looks like a bouncer (he is), but he is as soft spoken as a librarian. He looks like an acid metal guitarist (he is), but he is really fond of classical painting. He looks like he fights on a professional wrestling circuit (he does), but he is the biggest momma's boy out there- I know, I met his mother, and she adores him, and says he is the kindest son.

Dan's got the right idea- before he came to my studio the other day, to pose for this sketch, he had been at a professional wrestling match, smashing people into the floor. I'm kind of jealous- there are many times that I'm at various arts clubs and councils and galleries, and alas, I never get the opportunity to smash some of those people into the floor.