Zachary, Daniel Greene's class

[Chris Saper]

Oil, 20" x 16".

The format Daniel Greene used in class was as follows: the first morning, students were called alphabetically to select a pre-established easel position for each morning session, same model, same pose, all week. Likewise for the afternoon, except that they were called in reverse order. I got the very last morning easel position. Straight profile, full frontal lighting, no shadow pattern on the face.

My guess is about seven hours painting time. I wish I would have had several more hours to keep going on this.

I can't recall a painting I learned more doing, worked harder on, or enjoyed more.

[Chris Saper]

Image.

[Michael Georges]

Wow Chris, very well done - especially for 7 hours! Proof that you make your own goodwill - take your position and excel. Bravo!

You are going to show us all up at Bill's class. I still am struggling with charcoal from life.

[Mike McCarty]

Chris,

Where do you place your first drawing marks? And, how long do you observe the subject before these marks are made?

[Chris Saper]

Michael, thanks!

Mike,

I followed everything Daniel Greene taught (as best I could). He has a direct measuring system that is a little different from what I have always used, and I think his way is easier. He measures and marks the relative distances between the top of the brow, the bottom of the nose, and the bottom of the chin.

So that is what I did, too: placed 3 little marks for the first three measurements, then measured the length of the eyebrow, eyelid, eye, philtrum, upperlip, lower lip and the start of the chin.

These are all little landmark lines, measuring all vertical lengths first, then horizontal distances. Then you match the angles, and sort of just connect the dots in an angular fashion.

All of Dan's videotapes show this very same approach, and very clearly.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Chris, from the wonderful looks of your image, you were meant to be in that position!

I was hoping that you or someone else might be able to start a new thread for us newbies on what to expect at our first workshops.

[Chris Saper]

Beth, there is already a thread that deals with some of what you are asking. I'll go post some thoughts there as well.

[Jeff Fuchs]

Chris, I have watched Mr. Greene's portrait drawing video several times now, and I take exception some things he said.

First, he said that there is no way to measure widths, but they will self-measure after establishing lengths, if your angles are correct. While that works very well for him, with his considerable experience, I needed a way to measure in all directions. Greene's method provides an excellent tool for doing this:

Once the "proportions of length" are established, you basically have a yardstick which can be compared to any other lengths in any other direction. If you want to know the width from the corner of the eye to the ear, hold up your pencil and compare that width to the lengths that have already been established. It may be the same as the length from the base of the nose to the brow, for instance.

With all the emphasis he placed on measuring, I'm not sure why he stops after the vertical measurements are established. Of course, a thinking person can draw these conclusions easily, so no harm done, but I'm curious why he takes this approach.

[Steven Sweeney]

Jeff,

Since this thread was in part introduced as an illustration of the application of Daniel Greene

[Steven Sweeney]

P.S. Sorry for butting in on your thread, Chris! I like the painting a lot. My first painting in Greene's workshop was of exactly this profile -- of Greene's father-in-law, actually, a character who has shown up in some of Greene's "Subway Series" work. And it wasn't by choice for me, either, but we happen to share the same initial letter in our last names and, well, you've already told the rest of that story.