JW: What medium did you use?
BM: The paintings are a bit of mixed media, mostly consisting of acrylics and oils. Most of the times I finish the backgrounds in acrylics just because they dry quicker, and finish off the portrait or whatever I’m painting in oils. I just recently started working with oils in this semester of school, and these painting are actually the first couple oil portraits I have done.
JW: What made you choose these color schemes?
BM: When I did the first portrait I had planned on doing it in Black & white, but mixing the Paynes gray ended up giving it a blue hue. So from there it gave me the idea of doing a couple monochromatic portraits with the complimentary color in the background somehow. On the first one I added a gold yellow background I liked, and just decided not to add orange to compliment the blue. With the rest I was able to add the compliment colors, and learn more and more as i went.
JW: Where does your inspiration come from?
BM: Most of my inspiration comes from random places, and I can never really pinpoint one specific point of inspiration, There are times that inspiration comes from friends who are highly ambitious, sometimes it comes from looking at a painting that just blows my mind, and other times I will listen to a song that pumps me up so much Ideas will just rush in my head. Aside from that I just love being engulfed in the creative process, it involves so much that I don’t think is represented in the final image.
JW: Who are the people in these paintings?
BM: One painting was really just me bored on a Friday afternoon putting together google search references to complete a composition in my head. After that one I realized I didn’t want to have to google search a bunch of random stuff. I decided to either take a picture or just ask a friend for a picture, but for the image to have an interesting composition. For the red monochromatic portrait, it was just a friend’s selfie that I thought was an interesting image. For the blue-green portrait I took I actually asked a friend for a favor to put together a Frida Kahlo like portrait. I think from now on I will definitely be putting together and photographing the compositions I have in mind.
JW: Are they for sell?
BM: Yes $150 each or take them all for $300. I will also be offering 5 commissioned portraits for the same price of $150.
JW: What size are they?
BM: All three are 9"12", and they are clay board.
JW: Are you planning to continue this series?
BM: Yes, more than anything these three are a sample of a show I have planned in a couple months. I wanted to test out how well I can execute the ideas I had in mind, and now that I have i feel confident with starting on the rest of the pieces I have planned out. Wait on it !
