Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Beatniks, The Bastards, & The Saints: Jordan Sabolick

 [ "The Beatniks, The Bastards, & The Saints: Jordan Sabolick." 32"x24". Acrylic on wood. ]

It is finished. 

You can all heave a sigh of relief. You will no longer be wearied with posts about the crawling progress of my painting of Jordan and the many woes and setbacks therein involved, because it is finished. And I love it. Well, as much as a person can be in love with a piece of plywood covered in paint and gold leaf. I was really stoked on it after I finished all of Jordan's face, but it was touch-and-go there as to whether I ruined it after I finished the shirt... and then again after the background... and then again with the halo. But all was recovered in the end and all the mistakes blended together into something grand.

This was my first painting on wood and it's the biggest I've done yet. The wood was much smoother than canvas making it easier to get fine detail. Working larger scale also made it easier to really get all the nooks and crannies in there (I got every freckle, Jordan... Every. One.). Now I'm pumped up to start my next one! I'm either going to start on one of my Frenchie friends who visited last summer - a dapper group of chaps who all lead lives of adventure and intrigue (one is a med school dropout turned professional poker player, one is a professional Street Fighter player, and the other is my old friend from highschool who studies abroad in foreign countries and is starting his own shoe company). They really embodied the spirit of my series and it would be fun to do a painting featuring multiple subjects. It's either that, or I've found my first female subjects for my series! 

Meet Jordan Sabolick - the man, the myth.
Many of you know my severity upon my own sex (refer here for my schpeel), so it was hard for me to think of women who had the look and personality I wanted to portray. Then I realized I had the answer right under my nose - I just couldn't see the forest for the trees. (Enough analogies? Did I even use that last one correctly?) I'm proud to announce that one of my first female muses will be my dear, dear friend, the lovely and talented Sara Wilkins. She's been talking about getting a full sleeve for as long as I've known her, so we're going to paint her with one and let her live vicariously through the painting while she continues to mull it over.

Enough yammering. Below are some shots of the final piece. A big shout out to my friend Jordo (see left) for letting me paint his mug! And also, as cheesy as it is, thanks to everyone who's supported/critiqued/encouraged me along the way. It was so helpful (and encouraging) getting everyone's feedback as I posted progress shots on facebook and instagram. We artists are fickle folk, in constant need of feedback, and I know I never would have finished this monster if I hadn't had all that positive feedback. 

- Amy
Listening to: "Broken Throat" by Adam Arcuragi

 [ Left: My workstation shelfs. Right: Jordan Pre-halo. ]

 [ Left: My halo stencil: a saucepan lid. Legit. Right: Jordan Post-halo. At first I was really frustrated because the halo was too small, but after walking away and some positive feedback from friends I realized "go big or go home" and I just went all out on the halo. Seen next photo. ]

 [ Giant, sunray halo bursts. ]

 [ Left: Detail shot of the shirt. It always amazes me when you look really closely at a painting and it's really just a bunch of blobs and shapes. Right: Detail shot of my signature. I never do the same signature twice. This probably isn't a good thing. ]

 [ Detail shot of Jordo's face. ]

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