On the Roof

F. Scott Hess

On the Roof is 2 a.m. in my Hours of the Day series, and it is one of my favorite paintings from my entire career. I think that is because I succeeded in stripping it down to bare basics, from a starting point that was quite gaudy. It was also my first major attempt at using a classical 17th century Dutch painting technique, and that delivered a subtlety that was missing in so much of my earlier work. The painting depicts a father and teenage son on the roof of their home in the middle of the night. The father reaches out, worried, while the son gazes at the heavens in a lost reverie.

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Bijan Anthony Shabandi

Portraying a modern club scene using this technique.

April 10, 2012

F. Scott Hess

Should work well for that.

April 10, 2012

Christopher Thornock

I have always liked this work. The weird isolation between figures and between viewer and the “actors” in this painting remind of George Tooker.

June 14, 2010

F. Scott Hess

I especially like Tooker’s earlier work, and his whole group, with Cadmus and French, are heroes of representational painting in America. They lived through some pretty rough times. I can’t say they were direct influences, but I certainly admire their efforts.

June 16, 2010

goodbyelmc

Scott, thanks so much for your Technique posting. You’re really generous with sharing knowledge. I will of course be sending you all my practice boards for critique now…. heh heh heh

April 11, 2010

F. Scott Hess

I will eventually post the egg and oil Mixed Technique that I shared with you on facebook. Probably with the 6 a.m. Hour in my Hours of the Day series. After looking over what I gave you, though, I’ll need to revise it. Let me know how it turns out if you try it.

April 12, 2010

goodbyelmc

Awesome. Let’s open a new wing of OpenMuseum and call it OpenClassroom. You can share all your secrets! Seriously, it’s so helpful to read these explanations, see the sketches and learn how professional painters execute.

April 12, 2010

goodbyelmc

What needs revision?

April 12, 2010

Luciana

Halfway there?

I wish this day would never end….

April 5, 2010

F. Scott Hess

For me it seemed like it never would! Six years to make a day…

April 5, 2010

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F. Scott Hess

The technical information (in facet 10) is included not only because I like to share what I know, but also because I think the technique in this painting helped propel the content. The subtle hues of the night sky would not have stood up to a blast of color in the figures, and the classical technique also lent the contemporary composition a little ‘gravitas’.

April 8, 2010