I've done a number of tribute paintings over the last few years, and Bowie was an unexpected and unfortunate one. The painting, however, ended up being one of my favorite portraits. When I heard about his death I immediately started researching images and got to work.
I found this black-and-white image because it isn't the most well known, and I flipped it just to make it a bit different. With the tributes, I became interested in painting a black-and-white picture and adding saturated color highlights, so I followed suit with this one. I started in the evening, worked through the night, and finished by noon the next day. Sometimes I'll binge paint when it's worth it. Yes, I know I'm a little crazy.
This is the only process photo I found (I was too busy painting) but this shows the pink, acrylic underpainting I used to give the black and white more interest. You can also see my struggle with the eyes here. I think part of my problem was the fact that I flipped the photo so it made his likeness off a little bit as is, but also because that's just part of the process. I make mistakes and I tweak them until I get them right, or as close as I can. You wouldn't believe how long I can spend on an eyeball. Patience is key.
What was your favorite role he played, song he sang, or favorite thing about Bowie in general?
Thanks for looking!