I recently completed my third attempt at a portrait. Painting Aaron Paul/Jesse Pinkman as a gift for this very site’s own Carol APFans.
How it started, why it started
I started painting as a hobby in 2019. It was something I always wanted to do but never had the space or belief that I could. I started by sketching first, it was less messy. When I was a kid my brother showed me how to map out a face. I was fascinated and proceeded to spend time drawing the grid, getting the proportions right and then stop. I was only interested in the knowledge at that point, not the execution.
My first painting was inspired by Mr Robot, and my first muse Rami Malek. Maybe I used artistic license to cheat a little, only doing half of his face (the other half was a representation of the Mr Robot iconic mask). The fact I’d finally put anything down in paint was a huge hurdle for me. More than anything, that painting showed me you could make and then correct mistakes with paint, something that I’d always assumed wasn’t possible.
The Muses and the importance of having them when learning (imho)
What I have found in this short journey so far is its as important to find the right muses, as it is to develop the skills. Painting for me isn’t yet a passion that enables me to explore my imagination, but it is something I enjoy and so right now I’m picking subjects that I would call ‘safe’. I don’t mean in the sense that they are easy, but using the same muses – I have two, I already mentioned Rami Malek but as of April 2020 I also added Aaron Paul.
If you look at my sketch book, my paintings, they mostly carry a familiar theme. It might be obsession, but my rational brain is screaming that this is all part of how I’m learning these artistic skills.
I have two muses with interesting faces, distinct styles and have done work that I greatly admire providing a nice field of opportunities and motivation to practice with. Rami Malek with his Mr Robot persona or the flamboyant Freddie Mercury and Aaron Paul with everything Jesse Pinkman and Breaking Bad can provide.
Painting Jesse Pinkman
This project wasn’t exactly planned, but it was needed. Previously my painting exploits were done in the tiniest room in a 100-year-old London house. I barely had room to paint, and to paint involved a lot of careful moving of boxes and preparation. It was a task and needed a good block of time.
In 2021 I moved out of London and had the good fortune of purchasing a bigger house and being able to secure an entire room of my own specifically for ‘projects’, an art room if you like (it’s also my office, Lego build room and sewing room, but that’s still better than what I had before!). Unfortunately, once I moved in I simply procrastinated.
I had the room, the materials and even some time but I still left it almost 18 months between my last painting and picking up the brush again in May 2022.
It was whilst planning my Breaking Bad themed downstairs toilet (truth) that I found myself with a green canvas that I’d been experimenting with sponge painting on (to recreate smoke). I could not let this canvas remain as just a smokey looking green/yellow offering.
Whilst talking to Carol (APF supremo herself) I simply asked what image of Jesse Pinkman she would like me to paint. She promptly sent me 8 images to chose from, yeah…
I picked one. The image of Jesse had an interesting look on his face, it wasn’t a typical Jesse Pinkman image, and it seemed the best of the bunch to attempt.
At this stage I really didn’t analyse the image more than that, I fear if I had done the fluffy collar might have got to me reject it – how the hell do you paint fluff? And I really didn’t notice the t-shirt detail till it was almost time to attempt it. I’m jumping ahead, let’s go through the painting stage by stage without becoming too dull!
The Start – putting down the guide and working out the size.
I’m not going to lie, I have found so far that the first part of preparing a painting to be the hardest and least rewarding. At this point you are resigned to the notion that you are going to spend the first few hours just plugging away at positioning, perspective, colour matching. It will not look good by any stretch of the imagination and will chip away at your confidence like a bitch.
The Eyes
I have found that once I have a rough outline/guide then I need to work on the eyes before anything else. I love painting or drawing eyes, getting them right makes or breaks a portrait. I can’t deny that this is something like the fourth or fifth time I’ve recreated Aaron Paul in either a full-on sketch or painting. I know his eyes a little too well, I know when I’ve got them recreated and certainly know when I’m far from the mark.
It can be the strangest thing, and I know in some demonstrations or programmes I’ve watched that there are some painters who leave the eyes till last. I could never do this personally, but I totally understand the reasons why. It can be really off putting to have a painting staring back at you, and if you’re struggling it is certainly mocking you lol.
The Fights
Carol (APFans) will likely confirm that I had fights with this painting. Those moments where no matter what you try to do, it ends up looking nothing like you intended. Often you can waste hours fighting a painting, but I’m pleased that at no point did this painting beat me. I just had some close calls, where I almost gave up (but with the intention to return, just in the moment it felt a big loss).
The biggest fight was the left shoulder, that jacket would not fall right for the longest time then suddenly, it just worked (2 hours later!). Another fight was the hair, where I struggled for the longest time to get the colour balance right, again, for ages I was fighting it then suddenly it worked.
The new skills.
As I previously mentioned – when I first got offered this picture by Carol it was the expression straight off that made me say yes to attempting it. The eyes and expression were not quite how I’d captured AP before, and that was interesting. I didn’t notice until much later that fluffy collar. How do you paint fluff? A couple of you tube tutorials later and surprisingly I found the technique not only easy, but very rewarding and swift as well! I love painting fluffy now! Then I noticed the t-shirt, the ribbing detail, but surprisingly that became the fastest part of the process to achieve. First attempt, a bit of shading, numerous lines and it worked first time.
Conclusion.
Easily my best attempt so far at a portrait using acrylic paints. This now becomes my third ever completed painted head/shoulders portrait. I’m surprised with the 18-month gap that I have simply picked it right up again, and it feels like I’ve improved despite lack of practice in recent months. I will try not to leave it so long; in fact I have two additional projects already that I’m considering (neither are AP related but I can’t promise I won’t return to the Jesse Pinkman muse – especially with new material to was with the Better Call Saul appearances!)
Advice
Paint. If you have any desires to, follow them and just paint. It’s stupidly relaxing, a nice challenge and can be very rewarding if you keep fighting it. Anyone can paint, putting the brush down on canvas, there are no laws relating to painting, so just enjoy it.
Advice to myself.
Take the above advice!
Wannabe Artist – Jilboskilbos
