Sunday, July 8, 2012

Matti Paints - Subject Jeff

I had tried to get Jeff to do this for about a month before we could finally settle down a time to do the painting.
I've been noticing some patterns in my work lately and when Jeff sat down for me to do the painting, I had made a conscious choice to not bring certain elements into Jeff's painting.
Regardless many of the patterns repeated regardless but hey.
Number one was I was very pleased with Jeff's colour palate. Many people lately have been working with the tertiary colours. Lots of purples and greens and oranges. Beautiful colours to be sure but they can be a hassle for someone who is so used to working with blues and reds. That's my comfort zone. So when Jeff chose red, yellow, blue, black and silver I was ecstatic. At last! Someone who gravitates towards primaries! It's a little bit exciting when things like that happen.
Secondly I've been doing a ton of line work. Like a lot. Like too much. I think everyone from Caity onwards has been painted primarily in my line style. I really wanted to break away from that and work with some solids again. Lately the one who has caught my eye as being perhaps one of the strongest has been CHAD whose paint job looks smooth and three dimensional.
While in the end I don't think Jeff ended up being as solid as some of the other ones, I really enjoy the conglomeration between his line work and the solid paint. Also reincorporating spirals into my work I think it going to be my new goal. I do love how they look and they hold a lot of significance for me.
Overall, I really love how Jeff worked out. His skin took to the paint beautifully and he was so relaxed and at ease from the moment the painting started that everything went so smooth. I like to think this was the result of his relaxation and not simply because of my experience. I didn't really know Jeff other than the occaisional friendly gesture but after painting him, I have to say that I really enjoyed him as a person.
One of the biggest joys of this project is getting to meet and see people in a whole new light. It's rather delightful.
So here he is folks! Jeff! 


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