Hello Everyone!
I'm so glad to be a part of the SOG Forum! As an artist and appreciator of art, this is without a doubt one of the coolest places on the Web Planet I've ever seen! Such a magnificent portfolio of gifted and prolific people.
I am spankin' new at the beginnings of doing portrait work. I've been a sign painter/designer for the last 30 years. I've done everything in the sign business from hand lettering to pictorial work on billboards and walls.....working in many different cities in a few different states. It's been a great life and has always "paid the bills".
In the last 3 years I began a side hobby of doing graphite portraiture as gifts for family and friends. The "word-of-mouth" advertising has gotten around and I now have several paid commissions on the boards in my home studio. I've also just started a new oil portrait as a slight departure from the seascapes I've been doing in the last year as well.
I have loved the study of the FIne Art created by the Dutch Masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Rubens for as long as I can remember. I've seen their work in the galleries of San Diego and San Francisco, California.....where I've been dragged away by my lovely wife, Julie......who's had to rescue me from sitting and staring for long periods of time with tears running down my cheeks.
Best Regards,
Geary