Bruce Springsteen. The Boss. 48″X48″ of collage and paint capturing a living icon. Reflected in his glasses… younger versions of himself. In the jacket? A visual representation of his inspirations, ideals and important places. Just as many songs make an album, many words and images make a portrait.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ajamt_a-portrait-of-bruce-springsteen-by-borbay_people

Check the entire process in two minutes… the track Runnin’ courtesy of Kuf Knotz.

Beginning with the collage… raw, basic shapes, inserting the implication of form.

A bright orange under-painting in the background… the choice of blue was cemented from the start, so the complement compliments perfectly.

And then red for the hair, shirt and mouth. Now, it’s time to find Bruce.

Beginning with the shadows… the darkest darks on the canvas…

Working from dark-to-light, a secondary shadow… the tones are deep blue and red… red white and blue for the man Born in the USA.

As each layer comes together, the face begins to make sense.

Here is where The Boss began to pop… but I realized the rest of the tones should be painted against the blue background.

Already making everything feel different…

Getting into the hair… banging out the shirt… here, I realized two things: 1. The facial tones required lightening; 2. I wanted to give the jacket a dark wash… too busy as-is.

Ah yes… the lighter tones work. After applying a wash to the jacket, I instantly realized it was too dark… so I went in with my palette knife, scraping away, and later wiped portions down with nail polish remover to create that authentic jacket feel.

And then it was the final touches… the necklaces, glasses… and boom! The Boss. Ron and Tami, I hope you love living with Bruce.

Always hanging out in my studio… the great Coraline!

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