Nationally Known Singer/Locally Known Artist's Model

7" x 5" Oil on Panel

This is a little portrait study I painted at last week's Wednesday night portrait session. There was a full house at the session, so the only place for me to set up was right square in front of the model. Because of that, I didn't get to paint her long dark hair which was pulled back in a ponytail. Painters and drawers had about three hours to work from the model. My little oil sketch could use some more work, but when time is called at the end of these sessions, I consider myself done even if the sketch isn't. After all, it's just a study; an exercise. Kind of like how musicians practice before concerts, actors rehearse before plays, and athletes work out before games.

The model originally scheduled for last Wednesday's portrait session didn't show. However, the man who runs the sessions has connections, so a substitute model was called in. Not an ordinary model, though. The model for our session last week is a local singer/songwriter who has appeared on NBC's The Voice, and been featured in a Scott Bradley video, and who goes by the name of Belle Jewel. The studio owner's connection to the singer? She's his daughter.

If you're interested, you can find out more about Belle Jewel at her YouTube channel.

Here's her video on Scott Bradley's Postmodern Jukebox: 

And one of her performances on The Voice:

For more about portrait sessions, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "portrait", "sketching" or "drawing".