Introducing the largest canvas painting of my career, “Turned Myself to Face Me” — a 52.5″X94.5″, Acrylic on Belgian Linen partial collage-painting portrait of David Bowie.

This work began on January 10, 2025, and was signed on November 2, 2025. Bowie tested everything I knew about painting, and became the catalyst for significant creative and professional growth.

Owing to scale, I did something I haven’t done since my days at Boston University — stretched a canvas. Here, I finally managed to secure the Museo Aluminum Frame. This was no small task. I nearly pulled a muscle inserting the top bar. At 45, I don’t have many muscles left to pull.

Lying out the Belgian Linen, I placed the frame atop, and began firing staples. Though a non-smoker, I pictured myself, Marlboro Red dangling, an Abstract Expressionist, cursing through completion, grumbling about the success of Pablo Picasso.

Complete! That’s my full Silver Couch behind there. This painting is bigger than a full-sized couch.

Wading into unfamiliar scale, I began as I oft do — with a warm underpainting and basic shapes. Sky. Bowie’s. Horizon.

With the underpainting complete, I began to carve into the image. First, I added the sole collage elements below the horizon, which were carefully curated, digitized, printed on newsprint, and collaged with Liquitex Gel Medium. Then, I took a first pass at the faces, and began working on the darkest part of the sky with a series of hand-mixed tones. At this scale, mixing the appropriate amount of paint is a challenge.

The jacket details were serious. Laying them out took me a month. The intricate patterns lent to many hours spent drawing, figuring out the nuances, folds and geometry.

Having nailed down the darker part of the sky, I dove into the horizon. The primary focus throughout was making the Bowie facing front fade into a sun-burst.

The first pass of many attempts to nail down the sky complete, I dove into the collage elements. The objective was to make the writing scarcely legible… so the viewer required time to scrutinize the surface for translation.

The two lower typographical corners required nearly two months to complete. This is where my extreme Virgo shows… size five-zero brushes, with six layers of acrylic for both the letters and negative space. Absolutely worth it.

In negotiating the horizon with the sky, I came to realize — the tonality was off. And thus, began a journey of sky re-painting that would span a Summer.

To begin making sense of things, I blasted the bright yellow into a subtle mix of Red Oxide and Titanium White. Each subtle shift required nearly 100 tones to achieve the desired effect.

Climbing into the mid-tones, and eventual shades, Red Oxide was mixed with Burnt Umber. While I rarely deviate from the primary triad, I realized a uniformity in color was required to deliver balance.

Here, I was finally able to re-paint Bowie’s faces… a critical visual anchor. Figuring out the horizon was by far the greatest challenge of my painting career. How did it work? What wasn’t I seeing? The fading shapes at the base of Bowie’s jacket, while visually appealing, wasn’t it.

From there, countless days were spent sharpening the jackets, and revisiting the horizon once again. After a soul-searching, scotch-sipping walk around Victor, Idaho — it began to make sense. A bright highlight beneath the jacket was the catalyst I was desperately seeking.

Finally, I found my way, blending the brightness outward, at long last discovering the convergence point between horizon and sky. With the final steps of lightening the lapel, and adding a translucent mist, Bowie was complete. Working at this scale and level of detail nearly brought me to my knees. The home-stretch featured seven consecutive fourteen hour days at the easel. No painting has inspired, challenged and elevated my game more than Bowie. I’m a better painter today, and for this — I am eternally grateful.

In Bowie — I turned myself to face me, and realized — sixteen years of professional painting is merely the nexus. There is much to learn, much to discover, and like the universe — my horizon continues to expand.