Mercury 2023

Mercury, the finished painting

60 x 48 in · Acrylic on wood

Price on request

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The studio wall around Mercury, with reference photos, sketches and inspiration pinned up

Process

01

Step 1: A bare wood panel on the wall. No paint yet.

A bare wood panel on the wall. No paint yet.

02 03

Step 3: iPad sketch. Built the whole body out of contour lines on blue.

Step 2: The same 2019 photo from my bathroom in Seattle I used for Benjamin Three.

The same 2019 photo from my bathroom in Seattle I used for Benjamin Three.

iPad sketch. Built the whole body out of contour lines on blue.

04

Step 4: Painting it onto the wood, line by line.

Painting it onto the wood, line by line.

05 06

Step 6:

Step 5: I still haven't turned this shot into a painting, but someday. It's one of my very first nude photos, taken in Orlando in 2003. I remember feeling like I was doing something bad, but it was very exciting. I remember looking at the photos after I took them and seeing how flushed and red all my skin was from the excitement of it. This was when I learned how to color-correct some of that redness away with the hue sliders in Photoshop.

I still haven't turned this shot into a painting, but someday. It's one of my very first nude photos, taken in Orlando in 2003. I remember feeling like I was doing something bad, but it was very exciting. I remember looking at the photos after I took them and seeing how flushed and red all my skin was from the excitement of it. This was when I learned how to color-correct some of that redness away with the hue sliders in Photoshop.