Allow me to introduce my latest portrait: the man, the legend, Bono. This collage painting was commissioned by Lynn Serra, and contains many personal details within the canvas.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyx6pw_bono-a-borbay-commissioned-portrait_creation

Here is the entire process in just over a minute, soundtrack courtesy of Johnny Moore (check him out). Enjoy, and stick around for some photographic updates…

Laying out the headlines prior to pasting them down for approval… this is part of the commission process… once we commit, those headlines are there.

Firm, thanks to a healthy dose of gel medium… minor modifications based on feedback from the initial iteration, but pretty much on the money.

This Bono Louis Vuitton Ad provided the color palette inspiration for the painting.

Getting the under painting down, cutting into the picture with the shadows first.

Unbleached white, complementing the natural tonality of the newsprint negative space.

Here come the secondary tones, beginning to take shape.

Bringing warmth to Bono’s face… that’s probably something I never thought I’d say in my life.

Beginning to get balance… the glasses are two different reproductions of Gustav Klimt’s “Kiss” — a symbolic inclusion for this picture.

Bono and Brad Pitt like to hang out, at least they do in my studio.

Getting in there with secondary and tertiary tones in the face… combing the hair, working on the jacket…

Oh so close, at this stage, it’s about grabbing that luscious deep cadmium red, making a few tweaks, and applying with a fine, fine brush for a textural result.

Boom! Bono. A big thank you to Lynn Serra for this commission, here’s hoping you enjoy living with Bono as much as I enjoyed painting him.

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