The Indomitable Ashley...

 

"Conviction"

(Size: 16x20", Oils on canvas, Framed) $1400.00   SOLD

It's taken me some years to make this post about this particular painting. Admittedly it is the best portrait I have done to date, and the subject has a story behind it...as many of the most meaningful paintings do. Reaching back to the years I produced the Costume Salon and Sketch Lab at Illuxcon, Ashley accompanied his beloved wife Jen, also an artist, to the convention. I was waiting in the foyer of the venue for one reason or another during set up and spotted Ashley standing just inside the door. Ruthlessly shoving aside my chronically non-confrontational introvert nature, I was smitten with 'Oh, man, this is someone I REALLY want to paint' and walked over to say hi. I asked him if he was an attending artist and he said no, that he was here supporting his wife who was. Then I said: "Okay, I was wondering if you or both of you would be interested in modelling at our costume salon upstairs during the show? He looked a bit askance at that, a bit wary, until I followed through with "Because I can really see you as a medieval knight or king. Ashley seemed to straighten and you could literally see him think an internal "Wow, really?"  I gave him the information for he and Jen for the orientation class the next morning. Sure enough, he and Jen turned up, worked through the class with a dozen other people and had a blast. Swords, armor, that orange shirt, among other things were like catnip to a bunch of artists over the weekend, including me. He was soooo photogenic, amenable to pose and attitude suggestions, and he was really into the whole process, almost seeming to spend most of the days up in the salon. By the end of the weekend, Ashley was on the floor with his own camera, taking his own photos of costumed models for he and Jen. And I will be ever grateful that of the 1500+ photos I took that Illuxcon, I have many reference action and portrait photos of Ashley to inspire paintings for years to come. Medieval scenarios, sword play, even a little Game of Thrones with another artist who modeled that weekend...but that is a subject and painting (or ten) for another day.

The Painting: There were two very nearly identical photos that I used for reference for this painting...but the whole attitude was so different between the two, that I had a long time deciding what I wanted to actually paint. In one shot, the whole gaze was almost adoring, reverential, so I called that one 'Benediction'. The second shot had a harder, firmer glimmer of resolve, and I called that one 'Conviction'. As you can see by the expression of the figure in the painting, and title, Conviction was the one I chose to proceed with. It was a tough call, though. I'd done my design drawings for Ashley in June of 2018, finishing them just before I broke my painting arm. You can read about that in my previous post called 'The Long Silence'. In spite of panic at the loss of time, a knock to my self confidence, and of course, getting over the actual injury, I knuckled down and got it done while trying not to rush and bugger it up. I'm rather proud of how it turned out. And of course, the photo doesn't do the original painting justice at all. Photography never does. But it is close enough.  My love of dramatic light and shade shows clearly in this work, and I just adore the contrariness of the bright orange shirt and the teal cloak against the cool, shiny, reflectiveness of the breastplate. However, they pale beneath the shining conviction of the figure's face. One thing that I hadn't noticed when painting but has grown in significance as time goes on is how Ashley's wedding ring becomes an emotional focus of the overall feeling of the painting and its deeper intent. Someone told me that it lends symbolism and gravitas to the whole 'conviction of protecting king, family, loved ones, a single beloved person, that he is resolved to defend to the end'.

 

Below, is a selection of the drawings and easel shot. Silly me forgot to take progress photos during painting, but I think I was panicking due to the time crunch of the rapidly approaching Illuxcon and needing to finish up. Sigh.

The base portrait sketch and a couple of Ashley photos from the costume salon. We have Joleen to thank for loaning the armor, various medieval clothing from her copious costume closet and enthusiasm for the salon itself.

 

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. Hopefully there won't be such a long time between posting the 'big' paintings anymore. There are more to come, so I'll hope you visit again, soon.
Cheers,

Marianne