Notes on the creation of a full-length portrait of Ruth

In the very early stages of the painting,
Al uses a small floodlight and a painting
knife as part of the laborious process
of creating the desired surface texture
of the ground for the painting.By Al R. Young

This full-length portrait of Ruth the Moabitess, based on Ruth 2:12, will be the 48th oil painting in the Women of the Bible Collection.  It was completed to meet the production schedule for Women of the New Testament by Camille Fronk Olson.  The book, currently in press, is scheduled for release through Deseret Book later in 2014.

Dimensions (width x height)
35 3/8 in. x 76 7/16 in.

Support
Panel

Milestones
Research begins - January 2003
Composition begins - August 2012
Brushwork begins - December 2013

Equipment
Creating a painting often involves creating or modifying tools or making improvements to the studio itself.

Installing a scrim
Simplifying mounting of tray and trestle on the $10 easel
Simplifying mounting of panel clamp extenders on the $10 easel
Making a tree-limb brush holder
Enlarging the clamp-on mahl stick

Methodology
This section presents only one or two items that may be of interest to professional artists, amateurs, and others interested in the work of the Studios.

During painting projects like this, that can last for months or years, I sometimes use photographs in addition to or in place of color-formula notes to record crucial color detail from a painting session so I can more readily pick up where I left off.  Images like this photo of the palette cart are part of individual project journals that we maintain in WikiStudio, our online operations document on the Studios' intranet.