Tahir's Done

This one's finally done. I scratched away some of the paint from his eyes to create a reflected highlight, and I reworked some of the shading on his face. I also took the tone of his teeth down a couple of notches. They were just too bright. I have the weekend, which is Thursday and Friday here, to make progress on my next painting, which will be the boy holding a pidgeon. I posted his photograph a few weeks ago.

By the way, Happy New Year.

Closing for Prayer, Jeddah

I still haven't taken another look at my portrait of Tahir. Instead, I did this painting of the souk in Old Jeddah. Tomorrow I'll look with fresh eyes at Tahir and finish him up. Then I'll start on another portrait you've seen in my earlier pages, the boy with the pidgeon.

Bike Ride in Riyadh

If I'm not working, painting, or video-conferencing with my family, and if I'm not playing with my cats, Pinky and Junebug, then chances are I'm riding my mountain bike on the trail that encircles this compound where we live. Come with me for a ride, and take a look at the trail.

Tahir al Sudani - Almost Done!

My friend from the Camel Souk, Tahir Al Sudani, is almost finished. I've actually made a few changes since I took this photo - mostly on his eyebrows and the shading of his light-side cheek. now I'll put him away for a couple days so I can't see him, and then when I look at him again, hopefully I'll see immediately what changes remain to be made. If I don't do it that way, I find I suffer from something akin to target fixation, and I can't get an objective view of what I'm doing.

Old Jeddah

As promised, here's a short video that gives you a glimpse of the souk (marketplace) at the center of Old Jeddah. In the background you can hear the imams issuing the call to prayer. People are hurrying to close their shops and get to the mosque.

Tahir Unfinished

It's Christmas Eve, and I'm hard at work in my studio. I've been looking forward to doing this portrait ever since I photographed Tahir at the camel souk in Riyadh, a month or so ago.

I should head to the Embassy for a party tonight, but it all depends on how my painting is going. Is that anti-social of me?

Right after I got back from home, I had to take a trip to Jeddah for some meetings. While I was there I got to visit the old part of the city, where I took lots of pictures of marketplaces and old buildings. I'll post more soon, along with some video.

I got to go home briefly over Thanksgiving. A fun project I did was building this Christmas star and hanging it on our windmill tower, 60 feet over the house.