Getting Started

Above, Asya with one of her abstract paintings.

Last night, I met up with Asya, the artist who will be doing a portrait of yours truly and we came to an agreement on the work that I am commissioning, including size, medium (oil), price, etc.

I asked her which medium she feels most comfortable in doing a portrait and she chose oil. I was pleased by that. We are planning to do a traditional portrait, but with a Japanese-themed background. I have to send her some photos I took in Japan to give her some ideas.

She (kidding, of course) asked me if I wanted to be painted as Batman, after I showed her a sketch of Batman I did last weekend at my cousin's.

We are going to meet up again in the "Little Osaka" (or Sawtelle Japantown) tonight for a photo shoot, sketches and dinner to get the ball rolling. "Little Osaka" is a Japanese enclave in the West Los Angeles area bordered by Santa Monica Blvd. to the north, and Olympic Blvd. to the south. It is several blocks long along Sawtelle Blvd. I am very familiar with the area. My grandfather lived on Sawtelle Blvd. until his death in 1966 and I have frequented the Japantown area many times during the past several years. Asya lives in the Olympic/Robertson area.

The Los Angeles City Council designated the area as "Japantown" last year by a unanimous vote.

I am looking forward to this as I have been thinking about having a portrait painting done for quite a while. It's not an "ego thing", but a curiosity about seeing how an artist would see me in artwork. Asya estimates that the whole process will take about a week or so to complete. 

This is getting me "fired up" again to want to break out my art equipment and start drawing again.