Casey Jones, Mr. Poppers, and the neighborhood bunny as an actual painting, alongside the digital painting which preceded the final painting on canvas. I work out most of the composition and colors in the digital painting, but an actual painting has it's own life and dictates, so it never looks quite like the digital version- as it should be. Casey and Mr. Poppers are standing at the front porch entryway to their home just outside New York City, where they, the family, and the painting all live. The neighborhood bunny likes to taunt them. They give chase, but never catch up.
David Hockney is God, or at least my guru.
I have aspired for years to come even remotely close to what David Hockney has achieved. His use of courageous colors, freedom with manipulating composition to suit the needs of the painting, and ability to paint directly without revisions and editing, is fearlessness itself. He grabs the essence of a subject, simplifies it even more, and screams it out with fantastical colors that make it as feral and alive as the living/breathing thing itself. This is a goal I keep reaching for, but compared to Hockney, I am but a mere mortal. Hockney, native of England, lived in Hollywood for many years, but moved back to Yorkshire in 2005, to return to his roots and paint the English countryside. He continues to paint at an alarming rate, and continues to be, to me, the most awesome artist ever.
