Oil Portrait, Copy of Siri, by Kim Blair

(attempted) Copy of the Study/Siri
 9x12 oil on canvas
(attempted) Copy of the Study/Siri
9x12 colored pencil 

A few of years ago I purchased a number of older issues of some art magazines and was instantly captivated by a portrait I saw in the August 2000 issue of 'The Artist's Magazine'.  The american artist Jerry Rudquist ( 1934-2001) painted a colorful 'alla prima' portrait of a young woman... I immediately tore the page out of the magazine and kept it in a folder for a few years before I attempted to copy it for learning purposes.

I was very sad to discover that this talented artist passed away at the age of 67, just a year after the article was published.  It would have been an honor to have taken a workshop with him.  His expressive brush work and unique color choices inspired me to study his style by attempting to copy his 8x6 oil study of Siri.   The colored pencil sketch (see above) I created this past September is a better attempt at copying the likeness of his original, but I had the most fun creating the 9x12 oil color study last week.  

The excitement of exploring color choices took over my brain and I missed the mark on making a better likeness, but I will attempt another copy.  My color choices are not the same as in the original by Mr. Rudquist's, but by observing his study I was inspired to experiment.   

Here is an interesting youtube video of Jerry Rudquist painting his own eye...