Didn't want to take too much time on this portrait study of a scarlet macaw, as I am not very much into realism as a painter; I find it quite tedious and boring to do, and so I stopped once I felt I'd gotten the "gist" of this bird.
This is the latest in a series I've been working on for quite a while, in pairing birds with women. I associate the two with freedom, or lack thereof. Women often remind me of caged birds, there solely for the pleasure of those looking on. Here, I borrowed an image from a Nan Goldin photograph entitled "Odalisque of the Bowery" and tried to suggest with the bed sheet a fisherman's net she had fallen into, yet another trap.
This fat little bird was painted mostly with a palette knife. The beautiful two-tone color scheme of the bird itself was what captivated me.
This is a study of one of my favorite singers in the world, Concha Buika, for her soulful, Flamenco-inspired vocals. Here she is smoking what looks like a spliff, which might account for the huskiness in her voice.
This narrative painting was rather hastily painted, I'll admit. The concept was more important to me than the execution, almost done in cartoon fashion. I don't think a more refined technique would have altered the impact substantially. I find it funny myself. In fact, it cracks me up!
