This week's Time Out New York "Hot Seat" portrait was actor Paul Rudd, who I'm a fan of--he has the face of a leading man, but the flinty, goofy personality that makes him more of a character actor, and a hilarious one, in films like The 40-Year Old Virgin and Wet Hot American Summer.
But, as sometimes happens, being a fan of a particular week's subject doesn't always translate into a great piece. First off, I simply couldn't come up with a relevant background that would go with a portrait of Rudd, so I used a generic scheme.
Worse, I had the hardest time nailing the likeness--I won't say what part of the above portrait I feel like I screwed up, but it's there. Sometimes, though, what I perceive as an error will work itself out in my head over time, so after finishing, I'll leave the piece alone for a day and then look at it again. Most of the time, having "fresh eyes" helps me get a better perspective on the piece.
But this time, that didn't happen--I still saw the same problem--so I even went so far as to completely start over, and do an entirely different portrait of Rudd. But about 3/4ths of the way into that one, I saw it was even worse, so I bailed on it. With the deadline for turning the piece in being that same day, I only had the time to try and touch up the original and send it in.
TONY liked the piece just fine, but I feel like this is one that got away from me. I guess the beauty of this gig is, there's always next week...
But, as sometimes happens, being a fan of a particular week's subject doesn't always translate into a great piece. First off, I simply couldn't come up with a relevant background that would go with a portrait of Rudd, so I used a generic scheme.
Worse, I had the hardest time nailing the likeness--I won't say what part of the above portrait I feel like I screwed up, but it's there. Sometimes, though, what I perceive as an error will work itself out in my head over time, so after finishing, I'll leave the piece alone for a day and then look at it again. Most of the time, having "fresh eyes" helps me get a better perspective on the piece.
But this time, that didn't happen--I still saw the same problem--so I even went so far as to completely start over, and do an entirely different portrait of Rudd. But about 3/4ths of the way into that one, I saw it was even worse, so I bailed on it. With the deadline for turning the piece in being that same day, I only had the time to try and touch up the original and send it in.
TONY liked the piece just fine, but I feel like this is one that got away from me. I guess the beauty of this gig is, there's always next week...
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