Just following my move to Austin, TX in October 2009 I heard that my friend Jeff Legg was going to be doing a workshop and demo at the Fredericksburg, TX Art School. Jeff and I had become friends about a year or so earlier when I invited a group of 15 artists to visit and paint with me in Austin (which is when I fell in love with the area). Jeff was a friend of one of those artists and was invited to join us. Of course everyone knew of his work as an OPA Master and his incredible still life work.
One night when we artists were sitting around chatting Jeff mentioned that his other passion was portraiture. Suddenly he decided to do a portrait of Peter Miller. There was no light so he did it by candlelight in 45 minutes. I watched in amazement as he rapidly captured Peter in the dark. Jeff and I agreed that night that someday he would do my portrait for the magazine.
When Jeff and I connected before he came to Texas I suggested that this might be a time to do the portrait, however he felt there would not be time. I decided to visit, watch his demo of a still life, and take him to lunch. It was then that he asked me to come back at the end of the week and sit for a portrait as a demo to the class. I agreed and drove the hour or so again at the end of the week.
The day was rainy and gray and there was no significant light coming in the window so Jeff set up a light and started the portrait. He set a goal of being done before lunch and he made the goal doing this portrait with about two hours painting time in front of a class of about 20 students.