Seated Man

"Seated Man" - acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20".  Ready to frame.  Available here and at Artfinder.

​It's been a while since I worked on canvas.  But a super artist here in Florida (the incredible Tammy Seymour)  just handed me a pile of canvases, each painted rejects from yet another artist.  So, since paint overs are my new favorite way to work, I have a plethora of pre-texturized beauties to begin with this week.

This piece had an unusual inspiration...a photo from a catalog, of all things, in which the model (a man) was hanging over a chair in such a way that conveyed (to me), sadness, weariness, maybe an end-of-the-day-I-am-done kind of feeling?  I decided to tackle it in a slightly abstracted way.

Instead of a value sketch, I started with a value painting.  Gesso over the old painting, then a loose sketch with ink and a paintbrush.  Using more gesso and more ink, creating some darks and lights and a basic idea of where I wanted this thing to go.

There was a lot of push and pull in this one, but in the end I like the little bit of color and a lot of that incredible pose.  

When I asked my hubby what he thought this painting was saying, he said "Hey fella - got a sandwich?"  I am still chuckling.