Ranchero
 

Hello, all. I had intended to submit this piece to a regional competition, but I missed the deadline. But here it is finished, and I hope I captured this gentleman in all his tacky-shirt-wearing glory.

Unfortunately, some of the temperature shifts were lost when I photographed this, especially on the sleeves. Oh well.

Oil
22 x 28

Richard,

I can't help but think of my father-in-law looking at this. My wife would be annoyed if she read this. I like the angle of it makes him look like a very proud man. His shirt may be tacky, but you handled it well, and it doesn't take attention away from the rest of the pic. :thumbsup:

Richard,

Very nice portrait. As Jimmie said, a very proud man. Nice job.

Thank you Jimmie and Mike, I appreciate your kind comments. I know this gentleman personally, and yes, he is a proud, hard working man.

Sincerely,

This looks to me about as close to a self-portrait as you'll ever do, without actually meaning to!

An interesting perspective, which lends a proud and kind of "heroic" cant to the figure.

Hi Steven,

I'll don my sombrero and western garb in a minute, then do a comparison in the mirror. Hopefully I'll appear the more youthful of the two.

I actually had him tilt his head back a little in this pose, so as not to have his face completely in shadow. Pehaps this lent itself more to his "proudish" stature.

Thanks for looking,