David Rockwell, watercolor and gouache, 5 x 5" (13 x 13 cm)

In Cushing, Maine, I visit the Olson House, a favorite painting spot for Andrew Wyeth, accessible to visitors through the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland. Wyeth’s nephew David Rockwell is sitting in the dining room. He grew up in the company of his uncle Andy and Christina Olson, the model for Christina’s

World. As he shares his photographs and memories, I paint his portrait in gouache. The background is transparent watercolor and I use more opaque gouache on the face. The lighting is a form of split lighting, with cool window light from the left and warm light from the right, leaving dark planes in the center of the face.