Patrick Canfield

Surf Queen

This one is actually from a couple weeks ago. The model was wearing mermaid earrings and a necklace referencing St Christopher, the patron saint of surfers, she said. She said she was going for a regal expression, so I added the tiara. Amazing how…

New stuff

Okay, it’s been a while. I’ve still been making art, just haven’t been updating the blog. I’ve been saying “yes” a lot lately, maybe too much. Here’s my latest portrait from last night’s class. I was sitting almost exactly opposite of the light…

Let's get abstract

Portrait of a model named KT God contemplating the fate of Donald Trump I’m getting better at being less representational in my art. It’s like swimming in the ocean and gradually getting comfortable with being farther and farther from shore…

Chance encounter

Sadly, when I first passed by in my pre-caffeinated haze, I mistook them as another group of vagrants up to mischief on the sidewalk outside of Bean Bag Cafe, where I was heading to putz around over coffee for a while. They were doing something with…

Flower Piano

In the botanical garden, pianos are distributed throughout as if sprouted from seeds, inviting any wandering maestros to give a performance. I meander until I find a pond under a canopy of trees. In the middle of the pond, a piano hides on a tiny…

Slowly but surely getting decent at (digital) painting

Last night I went to portrait drawing class, that is, people sitting around in a room making representations of a model sitting in a director’s chair somewhere in the middle, with some music playing for inspiration. It meets every week at a new…

Sleep, mindfulness, and art

I finally feel like I’m winning the war against my insomnia. I’d been fighting this war for over two years and every night felt like a new battle. Daily exercise helped a lot, but it seemed like I needed eight hours of exercise to buy eight solid…