New Painting: Molly II
Hello, everyone –
This latest painting was both a commissioned piece as well as being a bit of an experiment for me. I had worked with Molly previously for one of my Big Heads portrait paintings. That painting was a personal success for me, and a project I very much enjoyed. Molly’s parents were fond of the painting as well, and were interested in purchasing it, provided I might make some alterations to the image (most notably painting out the Batman comic). I was happy with the painting the way it was, but offered a compromise: I would paint Molly a second time, this time crafting the painting more towards their sensibilities.
Molly and I had a photoshoot during the summer of 2012 and I had every intention of diving into the painting. Unfortunately, my personal life took a bit of a detour and I ended up taking a hiatus of close to a year from painting. By the time I got back into the mindset to paint, I was curious how I might handle the piece. I probably overthought it too much, to be honest. The photoshoot had been extremely fun, and the reference photos were all very inspiring to look at again.
In the end, I wanted to take a quieter, softer, sweeter approach with this painting. I wanted something Molly’s parents would thoroughly enjoy and be proud of. Though this piece doesn’t have my usual quirkiness to it, I feel there’s still so much of “me” included here and there. And ultimately I am proud that her parents have this piece on display in their home.
My many thanks to Molly and her family for sharing this opportunity with me. As always, I would be grateful for any feedback you might have.
Matt Cauley
November 23, 2013
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