First Impression

                                                                 First Impression
                                                                       Acrylic
                                                                       11"x14"

I want to thank Li Newton for this stunning photo that I just knew I had to try when I saw it.  She called it Watching.  Again I wanted try to infuse this photo with some feeling and I hope my thought came through.  Here's what I thought, that as he boldly looked back at me, that we were evaluating each other, creating a first impression.  They say you make a decision on a person within 7 seconds - but many times the first impression isn't the correct one (yep I have learned that one the hard way).  As I look at this man he could be ages old or a current day person you would pass on the street.  He cold be everything from a professor, preacher or unemployed.  Initially I thought about calling this Warrior because I can see that proudness in his eyes as well.

The other thing that was unusual about this picture is that he literally almost jumped off the mat board.  He really wanted to be painted and came together pretty fast.  There wasn't a whole lot of overpainting or glazing.  Again I started this painting going from darks to lights.  Gosh,  wish that happened more often.

What is your impression of this man?

Although I did add tattoos I don't think I'll make it as a tattoo artist, so just added some impressions.  Again a lot of the work I did with mugshots in the 30 day challenge is reflected here.  I felt a lot more confident with the color choices although he isn't really outside in the full sun as the original reference photo.

Thanks much for stopping by and hope you are having a super week.

Comments

hmuxo said…
Very nice Nelvia. I love the impression of his tattoos rather than the tattoo itself! Well done!
October 26, 2016 at 11:55 PM
Mellowood Gallery said…
What super eyes, Nelvia! I was struck by the composition; the top of the head chopped off and the face filling almost the whole canvas, but I am not sure if I like it (I used to take photos that way lol)
October 27, 2016 at 12:18 PM
Jane said…
The look in his eyes is definitely one that you notice , to me it looks like he is measuring you , an impressive portrait , seems like you two just HAD to meet !
October 28, 2016 at 5:50 PM
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