Brad Pitt

5″x5″ oil on gesso-coated board

This piece is AVAILABLE through Just Looking Gallery at http://justlookinggallery.com/

“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.”  -Ansel Adams, 1902-1984

I’m often asked how I choose my subjects for caricature. When I was in the newspaper business it was pretty easy. Visual journalism is about the news, the people in the news and presenting those people in such a manner that draws the reader in. All I had to do was follow the daily events of politics or pop culture for my “inspiration”. They provided me with all the fodder I could use. Although I have not been inside a newsroom in 10 months now, I still follow the news and the news makers. Once a journalist, always a journalist.

Now, I read several newspapers online daily as well as weekly and monthly magazines. I believe in staying informed, even when I have to wade through huge daily doses of pop culture crap to get to any real news of substance. You know what I’m talking about, Brad and Angelina cleaned out their garage over the weekend and Brad found two Harleys he forgot he had. Or, Jon and Kate announced today that they are pregnant with quadruplets. Oh, and they plan to divorce after the next batch are born. While perusing said magazines that are loaded with all the latest photos of the “stars”, I am inundated with tons of visual stimuli. Today, I turned the page and saw a great photo of Brad. I was struck by the structure of his face and the cool goatee, topped off with those flashy, star-like shades. I knew I had to paint him. I grabbed a piece of illustration board I had already prepared and began sketching in oils. Three hours later I had the image you see before you. So, it doesn’t always have to be some huge wave of inspiration to create a piece of art. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of flipping a page. Enjoy!