When Stephanie joined the cyberspace-based figure drawing group that I participate with, her excitement and enthusiasm were apparent immediately. It was great thing to see and I enjoyed seeing it very much. She jumped right in and seemed to be absolutely having a blast at creating all sorts of figure drawings.
This drawing, which she simply called "Ben1-8B Pencil" was the first that she drew using me as a (photo-based of course) model. I think it's a great graphite drawing, and having almost attempted to draw with graphite pencils a time or two myself (a gesture mostly in futility for me, I fear), I am really impressed, especially for an 8B pencil. I certainly couldn't come anywhere close to that kind of control and detail with an 8B pencil. The drawing definitely looks like me! As always, I'm humbled and extremely grateful to have the opportunity to see myself through the eyes of a gifted and talented artist. It's a very personally rewarding feeling that I can never seem to get too much of.
As the photo reference that Stephanie drew her drawing from, was one of my personal favorites, I was quite pleased to see that she had selected it. It was one of the first drawing reference intended photos taken of me by a person rather than a tripod and a self-timer function. I had been pleased at how it had turned out, and much more pleased to see a drawing result. As it was an outdoor photo, taken on a fairly large and somewhat cracked, flat-topped, rock I really enjoyed seeing how that had been depicted by Stephanie in her drawing.
I had certainly hoped that with Stephanie's excitement and enthusiasm that she would do another drawing using me as a subject. To my great pleasure and delight, I didn't have to wait very long. Stephanie called this drawing simply "Ben2-conte crayon". I love the energetic feeling of this drawing. All things considered, it seems to be a lovely fit, for many things and in many ways.
Having seen some of the oil paintings on her site ( http://www.forbesimages.com), when Stephanie announced her intentions to do an oil panting of one my poses, I was excited. In preparation/anticipation of that she did the the following drawing, using pastels, which she called "Ben study pastel". It has quite a 'classical' feel to me.
This sketch is one of many that Stephanie has been doing recently. She decided to work on capturing the figure more quickly and did a series of timed sketches. If you can believe it, she indicated she did this in 20 minutes. I could never do it, much less in 20 minutes. But, what amazed me even more, is that she said she did it in 20 minutes while riding in a car, that was somewhat bumpy even. This is impossible for me to even comprehend. And, yet, I think it's a very nice sketh. And, I also must say that I like Stephanie's choice of poses. She consistently selects my personal favorites to draw.
This painting is so incredible, and it was so wonderful to be a part of it, that it's very difficult for me to even write about it. I feel like I just don't have "good enough" words to express what I feel.
When Stephanie first announced that she was planning a very large (36x42 to be precise) oil painting, using me as the model, I think my heart skipped several beats. I was extremely excited. I had been very impressed with the sketches she had done of me and others, and I had seen images of her oil paintings on her site. I had a pretty good idea that this was going to be something incredibly wonderful to be a part of. I was certainly not disappointed.
I remember the first thing she shared was the exact pose/image that she would use for her painting. I couldn't help but think she had made a great choice, as she consistently seemed to like the same poses that I too considered my favorites.
Along the way, she shared images of the painting at its various stages. Not only did my anticipation build to previously unknown levels with each successive image, but I got to better understand how much work goes into a painting of this sort. I watched as time went by and Stephanie created what seemed to be a virtually perfect and beautiful rendition of the pose that she had selected.
At first, she indicated she hadn't decided what to use as a background for the painting. Coincidentally, along the way, I shared some of the photos I had taken from some of my hikes in the mountains near my home. To my incredible pleasure, Stephanie decided to use one of those photos as the background for the painting. And, the one she selected is my most favorite hiking area. She had created an image of "me" placed beautifully in a place that is very special to me. It is such a powerful and peaceful image to me, that it practically forces me to stop and just stare at it endlessly.
When Stephanie indicated that she had selected a title for her painting, I felt so humbled that I still cannot really express the feeling. Her painting is called "A Son of God". I'd like to quote something she wrote to me when we were talking about this title: "You know in my art I just do what I feel that God tells me to do. Honestly. That is what I get out of it. When I paint I listen to spiritual music and He and I hang out together. This painting is God's gift to the world through me. That is why I am here on this planet. It is what I do. ..... I get pure joy in painting. It feeds my soul. Believe it or not this painting is as much for me as anyone. Usually I paint for either commissions or for galleries. This painting was for the pure joy of doing it. It was for me and, though I did not think of it at the time, for you too. It worked out really good. Maybe one of the reasons God wanted me to paint it was so that you could experience the joy of seeing it? I don't think of it much really. I just paint. :-) I find it is easier for me if I don't ask too many question about why I paint what I do. I figure God knows the reasons good enough for both of us. LOL ...... It is really good for me that it is so special to you. That means a lot to me. I think that is much of what I get out of my art, the gratification of making people happy."
I'm not sure I'd describe my feelings about this painting as "happy". I don't know what the word is, but it's much, much, much better than merely "happy". I am unable to express how grateful I am to have been involved in this painting in the way that I was and that Stephanie Forbes created it. It's unthinkably understated, but all I can say is a most sincere and humbled "thanks".
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