Day 5 Ian Green

Today there was a breeze here and there, but I found the heat a bit stifling. I was ready to finish a portrait I had started the other day but the sitter never arrived. I continued working away at the moonlight scene. I was visited by the Cessnas which was great and then Chris Ivy showed up as well. My friend Matt came by almost everyday to check in and see if I needed anything.

While we were filming some documentation for the Box, a gentleman showed up and we had a nice conversation about art. He was a homeless man. We talked and talked and then he asked if I could paint his portrait. I was ready for a change so I agreed. As he told me about events in his life, these different emotions would pass over his face. He never stopped moving which is kind of a prerequisite for a sitting. The emotions on his face (regret, humor, anger, loss) were all so unique but they were changing too rapidly to settle on any one feeling. For me it was a series of false starts. All the while my knees were aching and my back, too. Kneeling or sitting on the ground while painting is not the way to go.  I got pretty close on the portrait and he liked it too, but I wanted it to sing. However, there were just too many variables at work.  I'd fix one area which would nullify another. I didn't have much time before Sam would arrive to take me and the box away for the day...and then there she was. I explained that I couldn't let this piece go in it's unfinished state. He understood and we agreed the next day I would give it another go.