Two years ago, I decided to paint a small portrait of my friend, Sydelle, who was celebrating the same “big birthday” I was celebrating that year. Wanting to surprise her with it, I couldn’t ask her for a photograph, so I snapped a picture of a framed photo of her with her significant other, my great good friend, Herb, and his dog, Charley, that was on the desk in their kitchen.

Sydelle

I gave her that portrait a few months later and was happy to see it in their family room every time I was there. More than that, Herb was really taken by it and constantly complimented my ability to catch a likeness, encouraging me to market that ability.

Charley

Fast forward…now Herb is about to celebrate an even bigger birthday. How could I not paint a portrait of him, after all that praise? Although Sydelle tried to send me photographs to use this time, none of them quite worked for me, so I went back to the same one I had used for her portrait and, just because Herb loves him more than anything on earth, painted Charley as well, on a little 5” X 5” canvas of his own. When I first painted the grisaille for Herb’s portrait, I thought I had not quite caught the likeness yet, so I started calling it “Almost Herb.” The title tickled me, so it stuck, though I do think that anyone who knows Herb Siegel, legendary playboy and lawyer from Buffalo, NY, would recognize him in this.

Almost Herb

 Happy birthday, Herb!