This is a new painting for Erik Jones' Tata Gala show opening this Saturday the 14th at 7pm. It's in Sarasota, FL and this is it's 3rd incarnation. A sizable amount of the show's proceeds are donated to Breast Cancer research, so it's a great cause.

My piece is 18x18 oil and wax on board. It went through various incarnations as illustrated in the progression shots. In the end, a Francis Bacon influence (among others) brought me to the final. An experiment for sure. Loads of fun was had. I do think I like the version of the painting before the final a little better, tho.

Funny story: I finished a phase of painting and needed it to dry, so I thought it would be a fantastic idea to use a heat gun to encourage the process a little. I had forgotten that much of the painting was over a layer of wax. So I proceeded to heat the piece up, and watch the wax start liquifying and bubbling..hahaha! I repainted some areas, but the drips on the right side, that resulted from this goof, are my favorite parts..haha. As Barron Storey would say, "give yourself something to react to!"

best!
-francis

15 comments:

Dustin d'Arnault said...

what happened to the face!!>!>??!?!?!?!

Tyler Schatz said...

^ hahahaha

great stuff though man, love seeing the process

Louise Smythe said...

dude, only you would paint a beautiful face and then just change it anyway.. haha. looks great as usual! thanks for posting the process.

M said...

interesting to see how you abstracted the face in the end... it turned out beautifully

Unknown said...

Nice push and pull on this one. You had a lot of fun with it I'm sure.

Neil said...

Nice! I wish I could be at the show. There are going to be some beautiful pieces there.

I like seeing the different phases you went through with this. It looks like you had an influence overload. I like the second incarnation best, myself.

Richie Pope said...

Looking pretty nice.

Craig said...

So fun to see the stages. Especially because they are each stand alone paintings in themselves. Do you know the work of Alex Kanevsky?

Nate Woeber said...

Saw your peice at the Tata Gala, it was tight dude, i like all the layers on it and the process you go through to get the final

Frank said...

great painting. My favorite version probably falls between the 2nd and 3rd sittings, though. I want to see your surfaces, they must be awesome.

Francis Vallejo said...

thanks guys!

craig: Yeah Kanevsky is a big influence. It shows in some paintings more than others.

I guess my main hurdle to overcome in painting like this is to let my instincts tell me when to stop. Still working on that..haha.

Jelter said...

Man, this one is really good. I actually like the final painting best. I guess everyone has their opinion on that, haha.

Anonymous said...

never used wax before, curious to know the name of the product. I must have a look around some art stores for it. This painting is certainly beautiful, loved the process shot.

Francis Vallejo said...

anonymous: Thanks! It's Dorlan's Cold Wax Medium. Gamblin makes a similar product. You can mix it with a little drying gell to help the process.

Tiffany prothero said...

oy! these are all beautiful, I love that your experimenting. :)