May Artist of the Month: Rich Bednar

 am an oil painter in what is loosely called the modern realism style today. I love all styles of art and do not set out to exactly replicate what my subject appears to look like it just works out that way usually. My goal in general is to paint as closely as possible what i see. Painting what one sees really amounts to the right amount of medium, in the right shape, in the right color/tone at the right spot on the canvas regardless of how absurd that shape or color might seem.
I will post 4 or five times this month showing a painting from start to finish. This particular piece was at the request of the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA to do a portrait of their annual mascot a few years ago.
I paint from digital photographs as its logistically easier and i can manipulate the photos (zoom in/out), change contrast to get better detail, or adjust light to see detail that is hidden. I mostly paint on wood panels but do some canvas work as well.
I start by projecting the picture of the subject(s) on a wall and pencil sketching the subject in general terms. I try to mark the key spots so I can go back and either sketch more accurately or with more detail depending on the subject. After which I do a tonal painting with sepia to better delineate what the piece will look like and give it some depth and contrast (sepia painting shown below)
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this months postings!