CONSTRUCTION WORKER by TOM BROWN

CLICK HERE for this original oil painting
Construction workers make great subjects for figure paintings and drawings. The rugged muscularity evident in their physiques offers the figure artist choice material for dramatic paintings. This is a perfect example.
     I began this one with a quick pencil sketch on a Bristol panel. Scroll down to see that sketch.
     Then I immediately went to work directly on that sketch with brushes and oil paints. The initial sketch helped lock in proportions, gesture and overall form so that I could focus on lighting, color, and other elements of the painting.
     I was mainly interested in the overall effect of the lighting and the raw power evident in his physique, so in this study I made no attempt to use smoothly blended strokes the way I would do if I were painting on a canvas or Masonite (mdf) panel.
     As I brought it to a finish I realized that the bold brushwork I used actually helped to accentuate the very things about this physique that I had wanted to capture. It was more effective because I made no attempt to further refine the brush strokes.
     Initially I had not planned to offer this for sale; it was a study done just for myself. But when I had finished it, I realized it will look terrific when properly framed and the right collector will also enjoy it.
     So I have decided to offer it on eBay. You can CLICK HERE to go to the auction.
     Thanks for stopping to look. If you’re a fellow artist you may like these downloadable art lessons:
     My eBook Painting Tutorials
     My Video Painting Tutorials
     Questions? Email me: tombrownstudio@cox.net