GENERATION

Generation, 2008  •  Oil on linen  •  111 x 522 inches

Note

In 1994 I made sketches exploring an idea for a mural size painting containing a number of life-size standing portraits of my best friends. Twelve years later the idea returned. More sketches were made. I determined the number of figures to be nine, planned the calendar and extended invitations for the sittings.

Nine watercolor studies were then made, from life, and used to determine the size and order of the figures and their placement in space.

Next I created an apparatus that allowed me to stretch one section of the canvas at a time and roll the rest around two spools, like a torah scroll. The portraits were made two per month for five months.

The canvas was then stretched onto an aluminum strainer and the background was developed over the next year. The painting was completed in November, 2008.

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