by Martin

“Fire Starters”: The making of

A friend asked me how I composed my paintings, and I thought it might make an interesting story.

I will often have an image in my head that is somewhat vague. Something that seems like a memory. My challenge is then to recreate that foggy vision and commit it to a canvas.  I sometimes go online and look for imagery to use for visual reference.  For the figures, I either take photos of friends – or, since most of my subjects are male, will use myself as the model.  The price is right – and I’m usually available.  Here are some shots I took in my studio…  

Stuffing my cheeks ala Marlon Brando in the Godfather to change my appearance.
But I ended up looking more like Michael Keaton.

 
Here I am grabbing my own arm, hope I win!

 
Needed more drama…

.
City in the background was too fiery,
needed a broader color spectrum,
everything was in the very warm tones…

The challenge will now be of course to make an exciting painting with the available resources!