Thursday, July 14, 2011

R.I.P. Big Man


I grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen s and the E Street Band since I could first hear noises and continue to do so today. When I heard about Clarence Clemon's death I legit almost cried. His music has been with me for so long it was like having a relative pass away. That week I played nothing but Bruce on my ipod and would just get so somber when I heard the Big Man's epic sax riffs. I was able to see him perform on stage about a year and a half ago and I am so glad I had that chance. Most defiantly a legend amongst men. R.I.P.


With my cheesy comments being said, time to talk about the painting (normally I hate ranting but here I go). The day I heard Clarence Clemons passed away, I stopped all the projects I was currently working on and began this one. It began with a really fun sketch and I tried to make this sort of a spontaneous project that I would finish in a few days so it could be up to date with the news. As I began painting, I realized there was so much about digital painting I needed to explore. Each time I began to paint, I discovered something new about the program, began nit picking at it, or just completely restart areas I didn't like. I then realized how easy it is to overwork a digital painting. I can't say I am completely happy with this painting nor can I say I am upset with how it turned out, but I think after a month it was time to move on. I don't think I fully captured Bruce's likeness (shame on me) and like I said before, it just feels extremely over worked. However, I view this painting as sort of a lesson, being it's really only the second painting I had ever done in photoshop. I'm hoping I when I begin painting the projects I started before this one (still in the sketch stage) I will have a clearer view of how they are to be executed. Also, I added the text in there last minute. It's supposed to allude to the album cover for "Born to Run."

Sorry about the ranting.

3 comments:

  1. I'm liking the tones you're getting, and this too resembles your acrylic work. A few things to keep an eye out for are Bruce's eyes, they feel a little too artificial like plastic and his hair feels a little air brush-y, but other than that its looking good and I like the stylization that's something I'm not really used to seeing in your work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks dude. I agree with you on the eyes and hair, those are two things I really need to work on in future projects. And oftentimes I feel like my drawings rely very heavily on my reference and I forget to draw things the way I want to, so I decided to take a more stylized approach on this piece.

    ReplyDelete
  3. you should do it more often if that's what you like to do, you gotta find a way I guess for the style to dictate the work rather than the reference.

    ReplyDelete