This past weekend I had the rare privilege of attending a @stevenassael workshop hosted by @seattleprize with its murder

This past weekend I had the rare privilege of attending a @stevenassael workshop hosted by @seattleprize with its murderers row of Fellows in residence. In the world of figurative oil painting, Steven is an absolute legend, and I’d long admired his work. The first four slides show Steven’s two glorious demonstration paintings (photos don’t do them justice). The 5th slide is my portrait from life that I attempted to paint in an Assaelian way, the 6th slide is a video of Steven working over my painting, showing me how it’s done, and the 7th slide is the result after he Assaeled it for 20 minutes. So awesome to watch!! Steven completely changed my mind about soft brushes and blending techniques. For nearly two decades I’ve talked smack about soft brushes (and blending), believing them to be the mortal enemy of impasto and powerful, sculptural painting. A stiff brush (or knife) wielded gently with finesse and precision seemed to be the most effective way of delivering thick paint onto panel. Now I see that a soft brush used with violence (extra pressure and/or speed) and precision can accomplish the same thing. A massive oversimplification to be sure, but I’m trying not to write a novel here. That’s just one of the things I learned over the weekend. The final slide shows my current painting in progress after a particularly enjoyable post workshop painting session using soft ass brushes and everything I learned this weekend. What a glorious and frustrating thing painting is….endless depths to discover…It’s the best (and sometimes worst). There’s an extra sweetness to it these days since so much of my time has been devoted to tattooing. Thank you @seattleprize and @stevenassael 🙏