had some work to give him, but said he got the impression
that what Whitcomb really wanted to be was a painter.
A series of introductions followed, and soon the art-
ist found himself riding up a rickety freight elevator in
downtown Denver, portfolio tucked under his arm. He slid
open the doors to a new world. “The first thing that hit me
was the smell of oil and mineral spirits. It was like Nirvana,”
he recalls, as though reliving the experience. “Then I saw
these incredible drawings and paintings stacked and scat-
tered across an enormous studio.” He still remembers the
size. “It was 3,600 square feet—the entire fourth floor of
the building.” He’d walked into the studio of the venerable
artist Ned Jacob. It was Whitcomb’s first encounter with
a real working artist. Jacob pored over his portfolio, and
asked Whitcomb whether he really wanted to be a painter.
“That’s my dream,” he remembers answering, to which
Jacob responded: “Alright. Alright. You do what I tell you,
and I will help you.”
Whitcomb explains that it wasn’t a formal arrangement.
Jacob would have models come in three or four days a
week. “He’d call me and say, ‘Hey, I have a model coming
in.’ So, I’d join him in the studio,” says Whitcomb. Jacob
covered the cost of the model and was generous with his
time, encouragement and advice.ArtistsNetwork.com 27