I got to take on a very challenging and REALLY fun project over Christmas: Painting another person into an incredible painting by Andy Thomas in a much looser style than I’m used to painting in. We have a friend who loves Andy’s painting, Grand Ol’ Gang (shown below).
We thought he would flip out if he were painted INTO it, like he was just hanging out with the Presidents (and I happened to have sneaky access to some great head shots of him). So, I did a little research on the best way to do this and preserve the integrity of the giclee’ while matching the style of the painting. It turns out that me and acrylics still don’t get along, though they are recommended for painting on top of canvas prints. But, after a little more research and an intuition check, I decided to treat the area to be painted with clear gesso and then I painted on top with my beloved oils. Yay for finding a way!
Below is a close-up of my portion of the painting. He was floored when he opened it for Christmas and it made all of the hours I spent making it perfect so worth it! I’m framing it for him this week.
I’d love to know what you think about this project. Comment if you like it. Share it on Facebook if you love it. Thanks!