Artist Gary Everest

"Photo op" with Artist Gary Everest

Gary Everest and I have been talking about meeting up for months now.  It dawned on me that if I actually committed to setting a date, it  probably would happen.  I've admired Gary's portraits since I found him on Blogger last year.  If I remember correctly, I found his blog through our mutual  friend RH Carpenter, who seems to have the ability to bring many people together with her informative blog. Essentially I went to Kentucky to find an artist 15 minutes away.

I was trying to find an artist online to show Gary.  Looks like I'm dozing off here. 

Detail of one of Gary's   paintings.  I cut myself out of it, so my shoulder is visible in lower left corner.

   I was up at 3 Am this morning determined to knock out a painting.  So when I met up with Gary at about 11:30, I  was looking pretty haggard.  His work is more impressive up close, where you can see his meticulous attention to detail.  Like myself, Gary will work and re work his paintings to get them right.  Neither of us have the ability to just knock out a quick little piece at will.  He does a great job of measuring the correct dimensions and checking to make sure they are accurate.  This explains why his subjects are so recognizable.  One of the most gratifying things about blogging is sharing thoughts and ideas with other like-minded artists like my friend Gary.   
As for that painting I was going to knock out this morning.  I will have to address that topic later.  Suffice it to say it did not turn out as planned, but I did get something painted.