Ryan S. Brown: The Loneliness of Waiting

Ryan S. Brown
The Loneliness of Waiting (2009)
oil   40 X 70 in.

On his website, Utah-based artist, Ryan S. Brown, offers in-progress images for his painting, The Loneliness of Waiting, along with the following description:

The idea for this painting came at a time when I was experiencing some frustration with some goals I had set for myself that relied on other people to help them come to fruition.  I felt I had done as much as I could to achieve the goals and I was left waiting to see if my efforts would yield the hoped for results. That is not a comfortable position for me to be in. During this time I made attempts to voice this frustration to a few friends and family, only to realize that it was impossible to explain to them what I was feeling.  The thought came to me how lonely it can be to wait for things.  In my case, the realization of goals. But for others it could be news from family, acceptance into school, a phonecall from someone you love, etc. So I hired this model, who always had so much expression in her face, and we searched around Florence together for the right setting to stage this painting. We settled on this spot in front of Casa di Dante in the heart of Florence. It was the perfect setting to isolate her and narrate that lonely sense. The old well anchored the painting perfectly and the mass of empty space around her isolated her in just the right way.  And of course the emotion in her face was exactly what I was looking for.

Brown received his training at Brigham Young University, the Florence Academy of Art, and in an apprenticeship with artist William Whitaker.  Several years ago, Brown founded The Center for Academic Study and Naturalist Painting in order to re-establish and promote the high standards of process-based art.  CAS offers weekly and monthly classes, as well as workshops with representatives of some of the other top Academies in the US and Europe.  

Katie Liddiard
Winged Victory
charcoal on toned paper
21 X 16 cm

One of Brown's students, Katie Liddiard, has just won a scholarship to continue her studies at CAS from the Art Renewal Center in New Jersey.  Congratulations Katie!

Study for Waiting, 2008 (Casa di Dante, Florence, Italy)
oil   16 X 28 in.

After several preliminary sketches, Brown felt comfortable "window-shading," or working the
painting to completion section by section.

When Brown realized that the rows of stone blocks had begun to go askew, he used strings to help
re-establish the lines of perspective.