Portrait Studies of The Long Rider by Diana Moses Botkin

"Long Rider" oil sketch, 12"x9"
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin

At the garden show last weekend I noticed an older gentleman. It was his stark blue eyes contrasted with his very brown skin which arrested my attention.

He sat for me about 20 minutes while I painted this sketch at left, and then he said he had to leave, so I thanked him for being a good model and took a few snapshots, thinking I'd finish up the sketch later.

Looking at the oil sketch, however, I decided to just leave that one as it was. I've ruined more than one quick study adding detail later.

This week, I painted a more complete study from the photos, trying to work quickly and thickly and not smooth the paint strokes like I might for a child's portrait.

You can read more at my blog about the paintings and my model.

"The Long Rider"
Oil on hardboard, 12"x9"
©2012 Diana Moses Botkin