continuing with the portraits this week my friend Alyssa volunteered to be my model and I'm really happy with how the portrait came out. again i tried my best to capture her essence.
i learned so much from heather's portrait and i made sure to have my proportions right, the yes are on the same level and i payed more attention on the shapes. i also stopped myself from over working the paint and using the same color for various sections. the set up was the same, as i used the same lighting and protocol. although i love working on big canvasses i think this size it's perfect for portraits. I'm in the works of painting a pair of sisters in the same canvas and possibly my mom. the style it's solidifying and i love where the paint it's taking me as I'm more comfortable to keep doing these series inspired of course by Alice Neel, Frida and Elaine de Kooning. yesterday i went to the MoMa and came back refreshed and ready to keep creating, i might start another painting tonight.
acrylic on canvas 24X18 in.
Alyssa is a reliable person, who's extremely logical and practical about life, her strong sense of direction and self assurance are just some of the outward qualities of her; because beneath her cool exterior she's a creative soul and dreamer. she has two bachelors ( film and advertisement) and continues to educate herself. we can spend hours talking about movies, the minutia between the details on each frame; she teaches me about muscle cars and financial moves while i teach her how to paint. she's the kind of friend that's always on time, you can count on her to bring red wine, go smoke hookah, talk about history, watch obscure films, have endless sarcasm, impeccable book recommendations, go dancing and talk for hours about life. I will never forget one night that i was on my own (my family went on vacation) and i forgot to refill my Lamictal and Lithium prescription (i was a fucking mess tbh). At the time i was freaking out because i didn't wanted to end up in the hospital at hands of another nervous breakdown or suicide. she came to get me and drove me to the ER, we waited for hours to get my medications in the middle of the night, she was supportive, never judged me, she was calm, she made me laugh and took me to a diner to get baked potato skins and tea. she took me home held my hand and made sure i was ok. I'm forever thankful for her friendship. she inspires me to get my shit together, work hard ,trust my passion because is never too late to reinvent yourself. to never lower my standards, be outspoken about the things i want and be unapologetically bold.