I’ve always loved wrinkles. They are like a map to someone’s emotions, traced on the face or the back of the hands. They are crevasses and patterns. Lines of character and secrets folded small. When I see wrinkles, I see a life lived. I see experience. I see the forehead creases of a worrier, the lines around the mouth from someone thinking seriously, and my absolute favorites- the crinkle lines around the eyes from years of laughing. So when I got a request to paint an old man with a big flowing beard, I was delighted. I thought I’d bring you along on the evolution of a man.
I started with the sketch. The story lines on the canvas. He started out like this:
I carved his wrinkles in black.
Then I had fun experimenting. I had the idea to paint him blue to match the sky background. I wish I had taken a photo of it because it was pretty comical. He turned into an old smurf without the cap. I couldn’t leave the poor guy like that. I switched his color to look a little more human. And then I accidentally turned him into a lumberjack.
There was no coming back from that, so I actually started over. I made him a bit darker, played with the background and his beard. Here are some photos to show you his progress as he matures.
And finally, I settled on who he was. It took a little while, but I think I got him right this time. Here’s the final version. I hope you enjoyed seeing the progress!
Thanks,
Marla Bender
