This is a portrait of Anthony McDaniel, a beloved colleague at Lieff Cabraser and band mate in the rock band The R-23s. I started this portrait of him in July, 2023. Anthony passed away suddenly last week, which sent shock waves through me. He was so alive, so present, so huge in my psyche, I've been grappling with the fact that he is gone since then. He was the heart and soul of The R-23s, and now it is changed forever. That commanding presence will never again be encountered in his office, walking down a hallway, having a quick chat in the kitchen, and most of all interacting with in real time in music. I was sensitive to his struggles with being an imposing black figure in a white man's world. In a better world, he could have just been himself, which would have been wonderful to behold. Instead, he carried himself with a dignity and formality that must have been a constant strain. We're all confined to our cages, after all; that is, until we're not. RIP, Sir Anthony.
My late partner Roy had a great friend in Pete, who's portrait I've painted in honor of the great friend himself. I'll be seeing him and his wife Jacqui next month in Cornwall for the first time in a decade. Can't wait!
Here's the second head done from imagination with the self-imposed time limitation of 30 minutes.
I found an interesting photo online of a horn player in Havana, Cuba, and just wanted to make a painting of it, so I did.
This thing turned out better than I expected. Bob Dylan is the real thing.
This is another addition to the series of portraits I've been amassing on Black American artists, musicians, poets, and other notable creatives. Mark Bradford is an accomplished abstract artist known for his collage paintings. He also incorporates video, print and installation in his process.
Here's another painting on the theme of feminine mystique, which is turning into a series, it seems. I get a kick out of paintings that tell a story, and this one is up for grabs -- my favorite kind!
This portrait of the great jazz saxophonist John Coltrane is the latest in a portrait series I'm doing on extraordinary Black American musicians, artists, and other creative types. In addition to being a trail blazer in contemporary jazz, Coltrane was a spiritual seeker and wanted to bless people through his music. Years after his death, he was canonized by the African Orthodox Church.
This is another portrait I'm adding to my series of influential Black American artists, musicians, singers and other creative trailblazers. Ray Charles was considered a genius by many in the music industry and was often referred to as "The Genius," but he preferred to be known rather as "Brother Ray." His powerful baritone packed an emotional punch with a singular style all his own. He is a giant among giants in music and will likely always be.
I was completely unaware of the great Black American painter Beauford Delaney (1901 - 1979) until I recently read an article on him in the New York Times. He was a modernist painter and a colorist, and so I felt compelled to paint a colorful portrait of him as a way of paying homage to someone who should have been recognized and admired for his singular contribution to art long ago.
This is a painting of my musical idol, a young Stevie Wonder. I love this man so much, not only for his incredible R&B pipes, staggering body of work and virtuosic mastery of songwriting, but for his activism and social conscience as well. You don't need eyes to see his genius, just a heart and an open mind.
This portrait of Nat King Cole is the second in a series I'm doing of Black American singers and musicians, and I've decided to expand the category to include Black artists of all stripes. This one was painted with a very limited palette of burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, ivory black, and white. The portrait of Billie Holiday was also done with a limited palette, the same as this with the addition of Indian yellow.
Nat King Cole is one of my all-time favorite singers, and his version of "Nature Boy" is, quite frankly, one for a time capsule; it is the definitive rendition of one of the most poignantly beautiful songs ever written, and NKC's voice lifts it to the heavens.
