Portraits in Progress
Greg's portraits have almost always been created through the same process. Looking at photographs rather than live subjects, he started with a blank piece of 8.5 x 11 plain white paper. Using regular pencils, a kneaded eraser & a ruler, he focused on the darkest parts of the portrait, gradually moved to the lightest parts & then drew the eyes last. Using visual art as a way to practice/improve patience, he purposely took his time -- spending between 25 and 60 hours on each portrait -- rather than rushing to complete it. Here (below) are two examples of portraits: In 2008, Greg drew a portrait of musician Vusi Mahlasela. That same year, he also drew portraits of both U.S. Presidential candidates (John McCain and Barack Obama). Scroll down to see the portraits of Mahlasela and McCain through various stages of progress. Click on the first image (the initial blank piece of paper) to start the gallery to watch the progression & to see captions indicating how many hours had elapsed at that point in the drawing process.
