"Harmonica"

10 x 12 inches

Oil on canvas

£120

It's been a wee while since I did any movie star portraits. Visitors to the blog will know I'm rather fond of painting characters from Westerns, and this guy is somebody I've been meaning to do for a while - Charles Bronson as Harmonica from Once Upon A Time In The West.

I sometimes find it quite a challenge painting indoors during the Scottish winter because of the light - or rather the lack of it! I have a couple of strong daylight bulbs that I use, but to be honest I don't think they truly imitate natural daylight as claimed. Quite often the light they give off feels too cold, too white. With this portrait the light seemed to be a hindrance and I had to work hard to get the skin tones and temperature I wanted. However, I got there in the end and I think my perseverance was rewarded with good results. In future I might start experimenting with other bulbs to try and make the ambient light in my studio a little warmer.

There are quite a few paint layers on this one so drying time will probably be a bit longer than normal. If you're interested drop me an email and I'll let you know as soon as it can be safely shipped.