Brandon Steen, Painter

2020 was an awful year for everyone.  Besides the people we lost, society also had businesses go bankrupt and shut down, some of these places historical landmarks of the city.  Add to that the condo gentrification of the city, and Toronto has significantly changed from what it once was.  2020 has taught me not to take things for granted.  I’ve been wanting to paint city landmarks for years to preserve these places but procrastinated doing so because I’m lazy.  Thankfully I saw Brandon Steen on TV today being interviewed.  Brandon is a local artist who paints Toronto neighbourhoods better than anything I could do.  His photo realistic painting’s capture the uniqueness of the city, and feel much more recognizable than the more famous landmarks of the CN Tower, Skydome and City Hall.  Brandon has definitely inspired me to appreciate this city more than ever before.

Brandon Steen: www.steenart.ca

The Legend of Zelda: NES Link Painting

This is a big year for Zelda fans because Nintendo finally announced that Breath of the Wild is releasing next year.  In order to celebrate my love for the franchise I wanted to do a painting that I’ve had on my mind to do for a long time; the animated character version of Link from the original NES Zelda game.  This version of Link can be found on the map that was included with the game.

I started this painting off by practicing how to draw Link multiple times on paper.  One of the difficulties I encountered at first was the lack of colour and shades within my drawing.  But then I decided to just keep going and worry about the shades later.  I then drew a basic sketch on a 5 x 7 canvas, which is my current size preference.  I went with a white background because it looks cleaner, and because animated colours tend to pop out more.  I then painted all of Link’s colours and shades in one swoop.

Thankfully, rushing like this made it easier to overcome my worries of the painting not looking good.  I then used a thin brush to do the lines which gave it a cel shading look, that worked perfectly.  I did make mistakes along the way, but the size of the painting made it easy to correct any imperfections.  Now that I am done I am very happy with the end result, and I hope to one day do another Link painting.

Link (The Legend of Zelda) Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_(The_Legend_of_Zelda)

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN89H6B3NIU

George Condo Ballerina Painting

Here’s my reproduction of a George Condo painting of a ballerina.  The original was commissioned by Kanye West for his album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.  The album was pretty good, but what I liked about it the most was how it introduced me to George Condo.  That’s what I like about Kanye, how he’s able to bring together different art forms into his albums.  Who taught you about Condo, Murakami and KAWS?  Yeezy did.

I did the painting on a 5x7 canvas, which allowed me to complete it fairly quickly (the drying process was the only thing that held me back).  What I like the most about this painting is the contrast colours between the turquoise background and the black and pink ballerina.  These colours plus the ballerina make for an elegant theme.  The only part I found awkward was the ballerina’s face because it seems as though Condo gave the ballerina a mustache.  I tried to recreate that as well, but kept my colour subtle to avoid it being a distraction.  With this decision I’m pretty satisfied with the end result.

George Condo Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Condo

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRRyWVDLgVY

José Bautista MLB 13 The Show Painting

Here’s my José Bautista painting from the MLB 13 The Show commercial.  When I first saw it I knew I had to reproduce it myself.  Unfortunately I procrastinated more than a year and didn’t get a chance to complete it until today.  The painting was fun to do, with its bright colors and comical theme.  In my opinion this painting is so ridiculously ugly, it’s good enough to belong in a museum (the museum of bad art, lol).  “Ese dibujo esta bien feo”

MLB 13 The Show Commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OURYEtacbNQ

The Museum of Bad Art:

http://www.museumofbadart.org

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRRyWVDLgVY

LeRoy Neiman Frank Sinatra Tribute Painting

This painting is a clustering of my adolescent experience.  It represents a point when I first started buying Playboy magazine and listening to Frank Sinatra.  What initiated my interest in the magazine were the beautiful women, however as I moved on to reading the articles, I found the magazine to be smart, stylish and inspiring.  I also started reading other similar magazines such as Esquire, Mens Health and National Geographic.  These magazines made me feel like the world had so much to offer, and to appreciate the sophistication in art, quality in material goods, and travel.  To complement my sense of style, I started listening to jazz and Frank Sinatra.  Sinatra to me was the ultimate guy to look up to. He dressed nice, was cool and collective, women loved him, and his music was classy.

A couple years ago I read about the death of a painter named LeRoy Neiman.  I was shocked when I read the news because it wasn’t until that moment that I realized who he was.  Neiman was considered the go-to artist for Playboy, having been featured numerous times and even responsible for creating the Femlins (the female figures on the party jokes page).  Most people will remember him for his painting in the ending of Rocky 3 (as Eye of the Tiger plays).  It was sad to hear about his death; however it was also cool to find out that he had done so many famous paintings.  In honour of his legacy I decided to reproduce one of my favorite paintings by him, Frank Sinatra on the cover of the Duets album.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a clear enough picture of the original, so I had to use a picture that I found online instead.  It’s still a nice picture because I was able to look at the details and colors carefully.  I used a canvas and paints that I bought at the dollar store.  I still feel like I’m just getting back into painting so I want to keep my hobby on a budget.  I found this painting to be very enjoyable because I was also listening to my Frank Sinatra collection on my ipod as I painted.  Like most paintings, I started with the background first and worked my way up to the main figure.  Everything was quick to do, however the face and hat was where I spent most of my time.  I can admit the face isn’t exactly like the original, but I’m okay with that because I’m happy with my final result. In the end what matters most is being satisfied with what you can paint and continuing to get better.

LeRoy Neiman Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeRoy_Neiman

Frank Sinatra Duets:

http://www.amazon.com/Duets-Frank-Sinatra/dp/B000002USN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394251920&sr=8-1&keywords=duets+frank+sinatra

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uQCzdwMqLM

Polo Teddy Bear Painting

I have been a fan of Polo Ralph Lauren since the early 90’s when I first started caring about how I dressed.  Before that it was grade school, when all I wore was sweat pants and sweaters.  But then one day I saw a magazine ad that featured Polo, and when I saw the pony logo I knew I had to get a shirt.  Needless to say many years later, I am still a fan and will continue to be one for many years to come.

So what is it about the brand that I like so much?  Well I think it’s because it’s marketed in a way that creates a great fantasy lifestyle.  For this lifestyle Polo provides everything from underwear, shirts, jeans, dress suits, wall paint, cologne, sports gear, doggie gear, high end gear (purple label), etc.  Other reasons I like the brand are because it’s good quality at decent prices, and because it’s a classic style that will still look good in the future.

Recently I purchased some new wool sweaters I had been wanting for years, especially the grey heather with maroon pony.  A few years ago I saw a girl wearing the exact same one (probably her boyfriend’s), and it looked so luxurious that I have wanted one ever since.  This purchase actually inspired me to do a Polo themed painting.  I decided to choose their famous Polo Teddy Bear.  Like most of my paintings I work on a limited budget with dollar store items.

Unfortunately I don’t own any shirts with the bear, so I had to print out pictures online.  Most of the images have this almost watercolor effect, so I tried to give my painting the same effect with acrylics.  I wanted to add stripes as well, but my early attempts at adding them didn’t look so good so I didn’t include them.  Overall this was a fun project to do, and I’m very satisfied with the end results.  I have now framed this painting, and it looks really classy on my wall.

Polo:

http://www.ralphlauren.com

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8ulguLVepQ

Rocket Popsicle Painting

With the great weather we’ve been having lately all I can think of is summer activities. This inspired me to want to paint something. I wanted to pick a summer food to paint so I decide on a popsicle, and picked a rocket popsicle. Before I started I did a quick sketch on Microsoft paint, and just started painting. Overall I’m happy with the final results, though I could have been a little bit neater. But I’m just happy I finished it.

National Gallery of Canada: Caravaggio

Besides going to Ottawa to visit Parliament Hill, this year I also went because the National Gallery of Canada had a Caravaggio exhibit.  I have been a huge fan of Caravaggio for years, ever since high school when I took art history.  I love his painting style because he makes people look so real and life-like, and because of the dark and light contrast (creating unspoken emotions).  This baroque style never ceases to amaze me, because I can stare at a painting for hours and still be puzzled at how it looks so real.  I also love how he pulls off such impossible to reproduce bodily poses on canvas.  So when I heard his art work would be on display at the art gallery I knew I had to go.

The National Gallery of Canada is located just a few blocks from Parliament Hill, and has an amazing view of Ottawa from all sides of the building.  On the front of the gallery there is a massive giant spider to greet you as you walk in.  My friend who I went to the exhibit with, told me that there were mixed reactions towards this piece when it was first installed.  I honestly liked the spider because the gallery building seems so serious and intimidating, and the spider adds a spice of imagination towards the area.  Art galleries are meant to be different, abstract, and especially provide you with something to talk about.  I also believe that all art takes a while before we get used to it and find the beauty in it.  I’m sure artists such as van Gogh and Claude Monet must have faced criticism when they first displayed their pieces as well.

Entrance into the Caravaggio exhibit was $15, and it also allowed me to visit the rest of the art gallery.  Unfortunately I was unable to take any pictures and videos of the paintings because of copyright issues.  However I wasn’t totally disappointed because once you see these masterpieces up close and personal, there really isn’t any way else to describe how beautiful they are; you simply need to see them in person.  I was amazed at how close I got to these paintings because I thought they would be behind glass, but they weren’t.  Instead I was able to get so close to them I was able to inspect the brush strokes of Caravaggio.  To me an artist’s brush stroke is as distinctive as a person’s signature, and I was amazed at how such a simple stroke could create such a piece of beauty.  Up close you could see a stroke going one way with a certain colour, and then another way with a different colour; and yet when you move back you see it is a hand or a face that is highly realistic.  Among all those art pieces I felt inspired and I began to understand how the power of art can move a person.

The paintings I remember seeing at the exhibit are as follows:

The Fortune Teller

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fortune_Teller_(Caravaggio)

Cardsharps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardsharps

The Musician

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Caravaggio_-_I_Musici.jpg

The Lute Player

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lute_Player_(Caravaggio)

Boy Bitten by a Lizard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Bitten_by_a_Lizard_(Caravaggio)

Martha and Mary Magdalene

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_and_Mary_Magdalene_(Caravaggio)

Sacrifice of Isaac

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrifice_of_Isaac_(Caravaggio)

Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Francis_of_Assisi_in_Ecstasy_(Caravaggio)

St Francis in Meditation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CaravaggioFrancisContemplation.jpg

Please excuse me if I left out a painting in this list.  The paintings that weren’t at the exhibit that I would have loved to have seen are ‘Supper at Emmaus’, ‘The Calling of St Matthew’, ‘The Taking of Christ’, and ‘Conversion on the Way to Damascus’ (which is a fresco).  Overall the exhibit is amazing and I would like to thank the National Gallery of Canada for bringing these pieces over.  The exhibit of ‘Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome’ will run from June 17 to September 11, 2011.

National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa:

http://www.gallery.ca/caravaggio/en/index.htm

Caravaggio Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio