Pete Townshend work-in-progress

It's been a while since my last post-- time flies when you're having fun. I thought I'd share a little bit of my working process today.  I had an idea to do a close-up portrait of Pete Townshend in black and white with the focal point being his blue eyes.  I started with a 24" x 36" canvas with three coats of gesso.  I had two reference pictures I was working from (see below).  I started by sketching out the features with black acrylic.  After filling in the darkest areas with black I mixed up 5 different shades of gray and began building up the values and textures.  I continued building up layers of paint and added blue to the eyes.  I still have some more work to do on this one, and I'll post the finished piece soon.

"Desolation Row"

Acrylic on canvas:  16 x 20 in.

Being from Minnesota I felt compelled to paint Bob Dylan.  I've never been a huge Dylan fan, but I have to say that I actually enjoyed listening to his music while I worked on this painting.  I wanted this piece to look somewhat bleak, so I limited my palette to blue, black, red and white.  And if you look closely at his sunglasses you can see a reflection of the Duluth lift bridge-- a tribute to Bob Dylan's birthplace and one of my favorite places to visit.

Rocky

My Rocky painting will be on display at the Hopkins Center for the Arts through September 4 as part of the Salon 300 show, so stop in and take a look if you get a chance.  There's a lot of nice work on display from  Minnesota artists.

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

Acrylic on Canvas: 32 x 16 in.

After doing so many realistic portraits I felt like doing something a little more colorful and fun.  Originally I had Paul in front, but I decided to add some green to his jacket to give it more ambiguity, and to create a sense of tension, as if John and Paul are competing to be in front.  And George is trying to nudge his way forward too, while Ringo looks content to stay in the back.

"Guitar Man"

Acrylic on canvas: 18 x 18 in.

"Guitar Man" is a Jerry Reed song that Elvis recorded in 1967.  It was a real struggle for me to capture the expression on this one.  Even now I'm not sure what he's feeling.  Is he angry, or is he sad?  I think there would be a sense of loneliness when you're as famous as he was--not being able to live a normal life and do the things that most of us take for granted, like going out to a restaurant without getting mobbed.

"Voodoo Child"

Acrylic on canvas:  12 x 14 in.

This was originally to be a 24 x 36 inch painting of Jimi playing his guitar.  I was about 5 hours into it when I suddenly remembered that he was a left handed guitarist, and I was painting him playing right handed.  My reference picture was backwards.  I didn't want to finish the painting knowing it was wrong, so I just cut my canvas down and painted the face.  It like how it turned out, but I'd still like to paint him with his guitar someday.

"Gonna Fly Now"

Acrylic on canvas: 32 x 16 inches

As an artist I push myself to do the best paintings that I am capable of, but it's hard for me sometimes to overcome feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy that I have.  To me Rocky is a symbol of believing in yourself and living up to your full potential.  This painting is a reminder to me to be proud, and to always do the best I can.  Also, I've been reading "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron.  It's a great motivational self-help book for artists, or anyone feeling like they are creatively blocked.

"Mess Around"

Acrylic on canvas: 14 x 18 in.

I had fun listening to Ray Charles music while I painted this.  I was dancing around while I painted -- this one seemed to come really easily for me.  It started out as black and white, then I decided to add the brown.  I'm glad I did. I think the color really brings it to life.

"How Can I Stop"

Acrylic on canvas: 14 x 18 inches

I started painting portraits in acrylic in January 2011, and being a Rolling Stones fan I wanted to start with Keith Richards.  I kept this black and white so I could focus on the values and textures without being distracted by thinking about color.  "How Can I stop" is a great song sung by Keith from the 1997 "Bridges To Babylon" album, and I think it's a good match for the painting.