Aleisha, 2017
I am either working on commissions or painting someone to be #blinddrawn. Blinddrawn means that I've painted them without them knowing and then tagged them in the post. The goal is to get him or her to appreciate art in a more personal way, because it is custom made for them. Surprise is an important factor.
Aleisha
Aleisha is a young accomplished actress in LA. She was discovered by my assistant at a festive Mexican restaurant in Melrose. Her outfit was perfectly fitting for the style of the restaurant, catching my assistant's attention. The bench was so striped and colorful that it would have been crazy not to paint her in this setting.
Process
In the painting, I wanted to exaggerate the colors of the bench and change them up a bit to make them livelier. I strive to create work that is vibrant and exciting. I painted her hair with gold on top of different layers of brown. I struggled with drawing her jaw (probably the third pass of it here), but after still not getting it close I eventually accepted it and wanted to work with it. Because of that, the irregular shaping in the painted face seemed to make the piece more special.
Above is a reference photo my assistant took at the restaurant.
Reaction
The reaction can be one of the most valuable rewards in the process. Aleisha was beyond flattered to be selected for a painting and left an impact on me by explaining that her close family member is a watercolor artist. She said she absolutely loves the art form.
Steemians, thanks again for taking a look at this post! Want the chance to be #blinddrawn? Upvote and/or repost this article and comment below with a photo of you! WARNING - if you post a photo of you, it might show up as a side-by-side with a painting on my page! Keep your eyes peeled!
