CHEECH and CHONG

Ok, this one is pretty high on my list of iconic characters!!   Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin, legendary pot smoking comedy duo from the 70's and 80's.  Growing up, everyone I know has seen "Up In Smoke"  and "Nice Dreams"  They really were pioneers of mainstream cannabis culture comedy.

         

Meeting these guys was great!  They really are both very kind down to earth gentlemen!

Stay groovy!!!

Made In Magazine - article

I was recently asked to be featured in the inaugural issue of Made In Magazine.  A Canadian online publication featuring a wide range of artistic talent from many aspects of the art world.  Painters, photographers, creative designers, musicians and more!
The article and magazine are really fantastic and I couldn't be happier to be a part of such an amazing publication!

READ MADE IN MAG here!!

Bob Marley - final piece

In the early hours of the morning last week I signed the painting making it officially done!  It took a while to complete this one..  but I am really happy with the result.
I have decided to entitle this one "Uprising"  I am very pleased with the look in the eyes.. and the sense of thought and reflection, peace and pain.

The completed size is 4ft x 4ft, acrylic on canvas.  All hand brush no air.

Bob Marley - in progress

Wow... this is a milestone painting in my career... I really feel like I have taken things to the "next level" with this one..  It has been from years of hard work, determination, frustration and late nights that this painting took me through the "wall"  I feel like I have broken a barrier in my work and things just clicked with this one... it went well from start to this stage so far...

It still needs about 10 -15 more hours of work on it.. but I feel like I am sitting pretty with this one and the result I can already see..

Thank you to my wife for pushing me to get serious about painting and for allowing me hours of time in front of a canvas...  Thanks to my kids for understanding that daddy is painting today x x

Stay tuned for the finished result hoping to have it up next week sometime!

Ladies and gentleman... Mr Tony Bennett!

What a fantastic weekend!  This past friday I was fortunate enough to attend a Tony Bennett concert in a small intimate venue.  It only got better when I was backstage after the show to meet the Legend himself and he was kind enough to sign my portrait of him.  Mr Bennett was kind, humble and very complimentary about my work and mentioned that he had seen more of my work and was very impressed...
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), better known as Tony Bennett, is an Italian-American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a serious and accomplished painter, having created works—under the name Anthony Benedetto—that are on permanent public display in several institutions. He is the founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York City.
The evening was a very special one for me and something I will never forget!  Many thanks to Tony for his kindness... a True Class Act!

Mr Tonight Show - Jay Leno

Wow!  It has been waaay too long since my last post... things have been a little crazy and I have been lazy about keeping up my end of the bargain here...  My apologies..
Anyway... this is awesome.. Jay Leno a late night icon! 
I was lucky enough to meet Jay on one of his fantastic stand up tours.  This guy really is on his game.. his stand up had me laughing for the whole show.  Clever, witty, current and you can tell he has been in the business for a while... true pro! 
To meet him was a real treat.  I was really blown away over what a kind, and gracious guy he is.. He interviews most of the biggest names on earth and treats everyone as if they are just as famous...  Real Class act!

Jay was kind enough to sign the work.  He really liked the painting, which to me, as always, is the ultimate compliment and endorsement of my work!

If you ever get a chance to see Jay live...  Don't miss out!!

Freddie Mercury plays Live Aid

Queen galvanised the stadium with some of their greatest hits, in which lead singer Freddie Mercury at times led the entire crowd of 72,000 in thundering unison refrains.  In their 20 minute set the band opened with "Bohemian Rhapsody" and closed with "We Are the Champions".  They extensively rehearsed their performance at London's Shaw Theatre.  Prior to their taking the stage, Queen's sound engineer covertly switched out the limiters that had been installed on the venue's sound system so the performance would be louder than the others.  Queen's performance on that day has since been voted by more than 60 artists, journalists and music industry executives as the greatest live performance in the history of rock music.

My next painting in the series of Live In Concert  paintings is Freddie Mercury at Live Aid.
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom (attended by 72,000 people) and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States (attended by about 100,000 people).  On the same day, concerts inspired by the initiative happened in other countries, such as Australia and Germany. It was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations, watched the live broadcast.

^{Stay tuned for the rest of the progress pics to follow.}

^{After the basic image has been roughed in, I start to layer in colors to form the basic shape, highlights and shadows, slowly building up the image} 

As the image starts to come to life, I begin to add details and fill in the background.  I can see now that because the background is so dark, the face looks a little washed out.  I will in the next step add some warmer layers around the neck, and chin area to give it more weight and make it look more solid.  Details like the ears, teeth and inside of the mouth will all be slowly addressed in the next sitting...  Stay tuned!!

Almost done.. just got to finish the mic, ear and mouth details...