Portrait of Artist Tim Bell in his Studio

I painted this portrait of Tim Bell (Beall) in his studio during a project in which we were both involved. We had been commissioned by a local collector to help him in the creation of a Chesapeake Bay Collection. Tim was to do the centerpiece which was a 9 x 6 foot painting of a Skipjack. I was commissioned to paint six portraits of living working watermen. Instead, I painted five and convinced the collector that a portrait of the artist in his studio would be a nice addition. So Tim came to my studio where I painted him from life and then I went to his studio to finish the background. The reason we did it that way was that the painting took up so much of his space that I would have been standing outside his studio to get enough distance to allow Tim to be in front of his painting. I also wanted to include part of Tim's painting box and palette which he keeps polished like a fine piece of furniture!