For me, sketching in oil clay is practice. I usually sculpt a face with or without hair and ears and then destroy it each week. This oil clay sketch was different as I couldn’t bring myself to take him apart. I kept him around my home and studio for a very long time before he was finally shown.

“Roman” as I came to call him, was born at the Catalyst Arts & Wellness Studio on Yosemite Street in Stockton during a Wednesday Night Drawing Group. The group was kind enough to welcome me even though I was not drawing live models like all the other artists.

I found it interesting working alongside 2D artists while watching their process when it came to drawing live models. I learned a lot about the similarities in my process and that of the group’s lead artist, Robert Kelley. We both start our work across the brow ridge and in the eyes. If the eyes are wrong from the start, the rest of the face will be off.

There came a point where I realized I needed to add some detail to Roman’s hair. I wanted to achieve a wind-blown quasi-hero look. I needed to do some research.

After a wonderful “research” trip to the Getty Center in Los Angeles, I worked to refine Roman’s wind-blown hair. The statuary on exhibit gave me such wonderful inspiration and I think my Hellenistic Era prototype looks pretty good.

What’s next for Roman? I plan to make a mold and cast him in plaster. In the mean time, he hangs out with me in my studio…

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