So often, the phone rings… and I wince. Unknown caller. Spam risk.

Not this time. The caller ID read “Trevor”. I was more than delighted to pick up for my friend, portrait subject and New York Islanders legend. Trevor was calling to introduce me to his close friend, Ray Carnes, Co-Founder of Recteq — purveyor of the best damn grills on the planet. We struck up a conversation… a chat that marked the beginning of this 30″X30″ collage-painting portrait.

Getting to work, I immediately began planning with Beth — Ray’s Wife. After analyzing twelve potential compositions — Beth and my trusted confidante, Erin, agreed — this was the one. From there, I began to compile potential headlines and collage elements from the shirt. Once finalized? It was go time.

Over the years, my process has evolved. In the past, I created the headlines from physical New York Post pages. Now? I create my own on newsprint, which allows me to carefully curate the message. The photos were collaged into the shirt… the background was painted orange, and it was time to get to work. This is always a strange moment in the process… which is why my previous process posts are helpful. Alliteration FTW.

Getting into the shadows first is critical. The eyes, nose and mouth must be on-point to capture the likeness. Even though I’ve been working in this style for a decade, I can confuse myself working two nearly identical tones for each shape.

As with all portraits… the layers are built, one set of tones at a time. The transition into mid-tones help turn the form.

With the highlights in… it became apparent I required one more set of light tones. And, of course, the background required a subtle gradient.

With the addition of the background, secondary highlight and details — my painting of Ray was now complete. Thank you Beth and Ray for such an enjoyable process — I loved creating with you. Big shout to Trevor for making the introduction. Here’s hoping we all get to bend the elbow in-person in the very near future.

Ray and Beth — I hope you love the piece — I’m really proud of what we created. Thank you, thank you.