William Howard Taft

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

I finally finished Doris Kearns Goodwins' book The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism. This seven-hundred fifty page book inspired me to paint the above watercolor of William Howard Taft, which I interpreted from the cover of the book even though his head is severely cropped.

I really knew nothing about Taft other than his weight, which often has been the butt of jokes. His father was born in Townsend, Vermont, which is here in Windham County where we live. He came from a family of lawyers, graduated from Yale and lived most of his childhood in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. His wife had political ambitions for him, yet he was content to work in law and serve a greater demographic than merely those of privilege.

This watercolor is 7" x 10", the same size as the one I did of Theodore Roosevelt. Taft was well-liked and at ease with people, which I attempted to catch in his facial expression. I composed him in presidential attire to reflect the importance of his position.

I did the drawing first in the same size as the eventual watercolor.  I will try to keep up with my drawing and painting, but I am bit hampered at the moment.  While raking snow from a roof this afternoon, I fell and broke my arm.  While we were in the ER, my wife joked that I'd have to do tonight's blog one-handed. Somehow I have managed to get it done.