A four-hour painting session of a 50 day dry-aged sirloin under natural light. Composed from a photograph I took, it is a small study painting exercising color combination and paint application technique.
The odd form and cavity of the hip of the sirloin makes for a challenging model. With little bone in view and most identifiable muscles concealed by layers of fat, the sirloin is a difficult sub primal to idealize in paint or in drawing.
This sirloin has been aged to the point where there is an extensive variation of colors from dark purples, to blue-greens and creamy greys. The second most challenging part of the painting was trying to sample such an array of differing colors, sometimes densely congregated next to one another. The palette is very pleasing from a distance, even if the colors are off-puttingly accurate for decaying meat.
Dry-aged Beef Sirloin, 2018. Oil on Canvas, 10"x 10".