Rush of Blood to the Head

acrylic and oil on wood

13” x 10”

My lack of tumblr posts is due to the fact that I’ve been quite busy the past two weeks working on one painting only. Once in a while I feel that its good for me to be able to focus, and not be working on two or three things at once. For a change of pace, I used acrylic and oil paint this time around.

I bought the frame from Zara Home store. It is slightly smaller than A3, so the actual painting dimensions is quite small.

Halfway through the painting, I decided belatedly that the composition was dull, and needed more elements, so I added additional roses and apple blossoms to the background.

Acrylic layers done, it actually looks finished enough so that I can leave it this way, but I like the way how oil paint makes the colors of the painting “pop”, so I applied glazing over the acrylics, with 2 or three oil layers. In my opinion the colors seem brighter and more saturated somehow, not to mention that shading and blending with oil is a breeze because it doesnt dry so fast.

I customized the Zara frame as well; I spray painted it black, with a final coat of varnish for shine.

This will be one of four pieces that I will be showing (and selling) in Abu Dhabi for the Rendered Emotions show on February 29, 2012. I will post a proper photo of the painting as soon as it dries, as I cant scan it yet because the oil paint is still wet :)

Live Simply or Eish Bebasata in arabic is an intellectual youth tv show in Saudi Arabia that talks about the modern visions and creative thinking of the young generations with the involvements of the social media in the region.

Creative Direction – Rollan Rodriguez, Hani Alireza
Logo Design – Hani Alireza
Graphic Design – Joseph Manata
Motion Design – Lewis de Mesa

Strange Woodland Creatures

watercolor on paper, A3

For me, there are always high and low points during the process of making any painting; with this one particularly, there were frequent times that I just wanted to crumple it and throw it in the trash.

For one thing, I had wanted the graphite marks to show through the paint; my intention was to make the watercolor to be as transparent as possible. Anyway, my good intentions were washed away with the water :) and I ended up using the paint too thickly again. I am too used to acrylic paint for my own good.

I also had problems with the composition at some point; actually Im still not entirely happy with how it turned out, but that is watercolor for you. Mistakes are permanent. I was struggled with trying to fix the faces of the girls most, I cheated a bit, and used white acrylic for the highlights on their faces.

Total working time on this piece is approximately 5 days (with plenty of time in between for snacking and reading :))