I found these process photos buried in an old folder on my laptop that I thought you Steemians would enjoy! Well, I did anyway. Took me back to one of my favorite paintings. I was working on my "False Perceptions" series that was my senior thesis for my BFA at Missouri State University in 2013 (you can find the post I wrote about the whole series on Steemit last summer here). I was exploring how we make quick judgments of other people from the surface. I picked some of my boldest friends to model for me for this series. This is my buddy, Adam :)
For these paintings, I was still on my paint-directly-from-reference part of my artistic journey that I've been talking about in my recent posts. That means in order for my ideas to come to life I had to stage them and photograph them first. This is one scenario that I will remember forever. I requested Adam wear the snorkel and flippers while holding my other friend's dog in a shark costume, and he chose his clothes. We went to a gas station nearby and I went in to tell the clerk what we were doing so no suspicion arose. Then the photoshoot began! I had a couple people also take pictures while we were there and the employees where chuckling watching from the window. It was a moment that made shy-self come out of my shell a bit and also realize how art and vibrance can brighten a day.
And then to take the image back to the studio. I was under the instruction and guidance of Duat Vu who taught me this method of laying down lines to find proportions and strengthen composition. At the time, I literally drew them down to help with the process (my brain just does it automatically now).
Duat suggested changing up some colors, so I went with the yellow jacket, pink gas station pump, purple car, and yellow jacket. They needed to be vibrant to help support the theme, and I was just dipping my toes into color theory.
It really is so different seeing paintings that have been in the studio so long on the gallery wall. Still a feeling of accomplishment that compares to no other. On display at Brick City Gallery for my BFA exhibition.
He now resides in one of my favorite local taphouses. Adam told me he had brought a couple dates there since haha!
