As a kid the actor Sid James was a total hero to me. Something about the characters he played just made me think he was awesome. While he's best known as an actor in many carry on films and Hancocks Half hour, he did a whole lot more and had a long and varied career before his life ended on the stage of Sunderland Empire (which is about 13 miles or so from where I live at the moment).
This painting is already spoken for, and it was painted over 3 days with acrylics on a 50x60cm canvas. I put a number of progress images on my facebook account, as people have asked me if I use stencils for my paintings.... my reply (while usually contains many swear words) basically comes down to 'no' as that would not to me be 'art' but more like colouring in you do as a kid.
Sometimes I block out a piece digitally and then use this as a reference when painting, other times I freehand it. In this one for example my mind wandered during the 1st session and I badly screwed up one of the eyes which I spent most of today putting right. The hardest trick if I am 100% honest is making sure the edge lines are correct and also as sharp as can be.... This can be very tricky on a canvas these sizes that you cannot lean on.
For anyone curious the workflow I used in the time lapse of the Robin Williams painting is about the same as I use now, although I do vary it depending on how I feel and what the subject matter is, but the main constant is I paint them...by hand.... I usually paint alone in my art room in total silence... I have tried putting music on but it distracts me i find. I paint best in mid afternoon and evening...mornings are a no go as my hands are usually shaking from the massive load of coffee I need to wake up lol. Obviously this isnt good when you are trying to keep clean sharp lines.
