Painting Is Child’s Play – Chris Sarandon

Description

This is one of my ‘sketchbook’ paintings. It is still a righteous painting, just not on canvas. Sometimes I do that when I have a concept I want to flesh out, or when I just want to quickly capture something or someone’s portrait.

Chris Sarandon is a versatile, talented and accomplished actor. Maybe that’s part of what has drawn me to, well, paint him after so many years of watching his movies. A true actor, like Sarandon, can transform his dark eyes from romantic to menacing compassionate to compelling. The trick to creating a successful portrait is to capture the essence of the subject; whether it is really them, or whether it is the essence that you choose to show. In this one, I wanted to show the soft but strong magnetism, to which the viewer could attach romance, or sizzling creepiness. Sarandon is a master at portraying all emotions, so in this picture, it is the viewer who gets to choose what he or she sees.

This piece is graphite and acrylic wash on 9 x 12 soft white, acid-free mixed media paper.

All art is unframed unless otherwise noted.