This is not a Velasquez - final.... Velasquez must be turning in his grave!

I finished this one in 30 minute spurts as the weekend was rather busy with a wedding and taking care of two of our grand children...

 With this one, I was trying to explore a painting language for a "dream like/immaterial" rendition. It's a piggy-back on the previous painting, but the subject is evidently quite conservative... and not one of my usual abstracted close-ups... but I had to get this one out of my system! Nonetheless, it does fit in my "smoke and mirrors" series... especially the "smart ass" title!

This definitely requires further exploration on my part... but, in the end, my paintings are heading in the direction of being a "mixed bag" of tricks!

Note: Second photo with a flash...

Note to self: "I'm starting to have a broad painting vocabulary... question is... can I say something?... do I have something to say?!"

This is not a Velasquez - step III... An adjustment phase!

After analysis, I felt the need to adjust the figure a little, particularly the "barn door" proportions of the back ...

This is bound to have a ripple effect elsewhere! I will then be ready for some "deconstruction" work... sort of an attempt to lose the figure into the background without losing it... this is the difficult part for me!

Note to self: "When rendering the figure I need to get rid of my bodybuilder frame of mind... the moment I start applying paint... figures tend to take epic proportions easily... and sort of get out of control!"

This is not a Velasquez - step II... The point of view makes a big difference!

I've been wanting for a while to try a traditional subject matter to test my current "off the wall" techniques...

Deconstructing a whole figure is more difficult than doing it with a "macro" point of view... I realize I'm a bit timid! I definitely need another layer!

This is not a Velasquez - step I... Keeping the momentum going from the previous work!

Subject matter is less of a concern these days... I have an urgent  need to bring some of my recent experiments with soot and walnut stain to fruition...

The title is meant as a joke since it's already apparent that the Master is out of reach for me!

Note to self: "I'm not quite ready for stand alone black and white renditions... I'm getting closer each time... this one needs a slight correction in the spinal area..."

Ultimate fighter VI final... A first hesitant step towards painting fragments of memory?

In the end, I decided to leave this one relatively unfinished...

I've been toying for a while with the idea of painting what's left in memory just after having seen something in a flash. The look of this one is different enough (relative to what I've done before) to warrant further exploration on my part...

Update: I tried a mat varnish on this one to add to the effect... and photographed it again, but this time in the bright sunshine...

Note to self: "The challenge will be to maintain this look with the application of bolder colors in futur works... I think I'm after a certain refraction effect..."

Ultimate fighter VI -step III... Trying to open a door!

The third pass was fluid and transparent to retain as much of the original look as possible...

I think I need to take a pause before completion... this "fragment of memory" look is something I've been after for a while!

Montreal world film festival...

In the context the Montreal world film festival, I had a chance over the weekend to see a documentary on a fellow artist now living in Nicaragua: Jean Marc Calvet. It's the extraordinary story of an individual who managed to find his redemption in the visual arts after having lived a very dark period in his life. It's truly inspirational and Dominic Allan, director and producer, is to be congratulated for his excellent cinematography and the way he approached an emotionally charged situation at the end of the documentary...

Having lunch with Dominic Allan was a real treat. I wish him good luck in all his future endeavours.