So James did end up going to All-Con. It was a last minute thing. If you got to see'em out there, good on ya! If not... sorry for the misunderstanding. (It's not my fault!!)
The real reason for today's post: James just finished two paintings that you have to see. One of these is extremely rare. You'll see what I mean when you read James' description.
Dying Sun
James wrote:
This is an oil painting I did as an exercise to see how much tonal balance I could get with just two colors(sienna and tangerine).I sat on the floor and sketched myself from a reflection in a framed picture.It has a nice ethereal quality to it,a soft dreamy feel which I really like,kind of romantic too,but I don't think I can do many of these Crow paintings,maybe a few more,but I run the risk of becoming repetitive and boring,sure death for an artist.12x16 oil paint on unmounted canvas. James OBarr
Brandon
James wrote:
I don't draw or paint pictures of Brandon. It's just too hard, and I don't want to be one of those people making money off his image. All the money from the film went to charities, I didn't want it, it felt like blood money to me. Invariably at every convention people come up to me and ask me to draw Brandon in this pose or that,this scene from the film, or from their favorite photograph. I don't think they realize they are asking me to draw a picture of my dead friend, and how painful his loss still is to me, 16 years on. I try and explain cordially why I don't paint Brandon, but I'm not sure they always understand. Alex Proyas, Alex MacDowell, me, we all owe everything to Brandon, he gave that film a soul and a heart. He made us all shine.
I've done maybe three paintings of Brandon in the years since then, all for charities or gifts to his loved ones. That being said, we have this thing here, which I should explain about.
It's the 20th anniversary of the book this year and the 15th of the film and some fellow out in LA thought it would be a nice idea to have an exhibit/artshow commemorating them. He hopes Brandon's sister Shannon and I will be the guests of honor. I've been in the same room with her before but was hesitant to approach her, introduce myself. I didn't know if she was angry still,about his death, or if she would somehow hold me responsible. I felt responsible in some backwards dog logic way. I wanted to tell her I was sorry but didn't have the courage. So,this time I planned on doing something really nice, something really beautiful for her :paint her a portrait of Brandon in oils, hoping to capture what was so beautiful an enigmatic and disarming about him. He was one of the most sincere, humble, charming people I have ever met, and I loved him like a little brother. So, for the first time in years I tried to paint Brandon. This is a color study I did in oils, 12x16 inches, from a photograph I believe my good friend John Bergin took on the set (John I miss you dearly...). It turned out nice, capturing Brandon's intensity I think, and this may be the last time I ever paint him, it just hurts too much to look in his eyes. James OBarr
Wow.
~Michael
the Crow's Little Helper
