Ah, the noble art of portrait painting! It conjures up images of graceful brush strokes, soulful gazes captured on canvas, and a serene atmosphere of creativity. But let me tell you, behind that serene façade lies a whirlwind of frustrations, mishaps, and unexpected adventures! Strap in as we embark on a journey through the comical chaos of painting portraits...
My latest body of work is entitled A Thread Through Roanoke: Celebrating contemporary traditional portraits of the people that make Roanoke matter.
This is going to be a massive project, for sure, but so far it has been a lot of fun! It will consist of 10(ish) large scale portraits of people in the Roanoke area that are influencers in our community by actively building a strong, positive culture.
This is not a popularity contest, for it will include non-high profile people like Officer Cobb and his K-9, a Roanoke city police officer who simply goes above and beyond the job and the badge to serve the people.
I decided to start off the fun with Dick and Dave from Q99 radio station. The photo shoot was a HOOT to say the least and it was very difficult to choose the final poses for the painting.
I spent more time on this painting than any other thus far in my career. I know more about the technical rig stuff of radio equipment than I ever thought I would, I know the very character of Dave’s teeth and I know now to never paint a landscape into a double portrait. I am pleased with the final piece after weeks of crazy.
So 1 down and 10ish to go! I’m a little behind in the schedule, but I’ve got this, right? I do my best work under pressure.
So next up to my easel is the one and only Joe Cobb. He is truly a character in all the best of ways! The photo shoot was great fun and a ton of laughter! Joe is currently running for Mayor of Roanoke so for just style and personality he gets my vote!
W.C. Brock
