Get A Little Face on Your Paint

This is my idea of heaven:

Sunday, February 8, 2009

(Manhattan apartment, sun shining in, windows open, sweet breeze, 50 degrees in February, paints, canvas, inspiration and some tunes.)

With Mother Nature on my side, today I finished my first painting since high school.  The painting bug hit again after a trip to the New Museum a few months back where I caught the works of the wonderful Miss Elizabeth Peyton.  Elizabeth Peyton is best known for her portraits of her close friends, boyfriends, pop celebrities (Gallagher brothers, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain etc) European monarchy, and has now even added a painting of Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha to the collection.  

Take a look at one of my favorite pieces by her:

  

I love the idea of painting rockstars.  There is an inherent movement and passion in a musician onstage sweating under the lights with an instrument in hand.  I’m not trying to sound lazy, but that energy makes my job as a painter tremendously easier; I don’t have to create something that’s not already there.

I knew I wanted to do something similar, but I also wanted to do something with more grit too.  Something that felt more me.  That meant no slick wispy hair lightly tickling the forehead, and no long slender fingers coiling around a mikestand.  I’m talking instead of the womp womp wompppp, well… unlikely troubadour, if you will, Mr. Joe Goddard of Hot Chip.  I’m not saying he doesn’t pull the rockstar persona off, I’m just saying he looks more fumbling quarterback than electro-pop superstar. 

Here, see for yourself.  This is what I’ve been up to this winter:

Joe Goddard of Hot Chip by Jess418 (Acrylic on Canvas)

Like I said, it has been a while since I last gridded up a canvas, drew a picture to scale, used my color wheel to mix the right shade of purple, threw all the rules away and just tried to get the desired end result any way I could.  So I’m somewhat pleased by the finished painting even if there are about five problems I could point out to you right now if you gave me enough silent space.  But instead of that, let’s all agree on this – I have a long ways to go before I tell you I’ll be exhibiting my work at the New Museum like Miss Peyton.  In fact, I may quit this new hobby altogether in the next month or so on account of body aches from sitting on the floor.