Joe's Portrait (aka The Thinker)

Long before I got my mitts on it The Thinker was a work of art in its own right. The original photo was taken by the incredibly talented Vincent Valentino - Ottawa based photographer, filmmaker, and all round good guy extraordinaire. I'm not certain that when he captured this quiet Father of The Bride moment he realised that he would be capturing a little piece of Joe's soul with it...the image encapsulates his personality just that well.

So my job was easy, Vincent had done all the hard work for me. If you're in that part of the world, go and look him up...they don't make 'em like that here in Australia.

Another 45x60cm canvas...the perfect size for a study or man-cave.

The monochrome palette is so easy to work with and because I have no need to fuss about matching skin tones and colour variations I'm afforded the opportunity to really focus on textures and tones...

...the effect is rather stunning.

I finished off the piece with just the faintest hint of hazel eyes and, it seemed apt to commemorate the wedding, a faint brush of gold on the wedding band.

Every now and then I paint something so extraordinary that I surprise even myself. It should probably make my head swell with self-pride and marvel at the work of my hands but it's actually a very humbling experience. This was certainly one of those paintings...Joe tells me that he's been honoured by the experience but in truth the honour has been mine.