Servier Pharmaceuticals asked me to create a painting for their Boston lab. This commission was to be based on a patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who benefited from treatment with their drug, Tibsovo. The theme of the artwork was ‘gratitude is everything’ as this treatment allowed the patient more time with his family before passing. The painting featured the company’s logo colors of tangerine orange and midnight blue. I choose to create an abstracted view into a vein with healthy and cancerous blood cells coming toward the audience. Below are the steps I took in creating this painting. Hopefully this offers you a glimpse into my process…
Initial sketches.
The first step in creating one of my paintings is to make a series of works on paper to play with composition, scale, color and design.
First Paint Layer.
Once I am happy with the sketches, I move on to prepping the canvas. I start with a first layer of fluid painting that will set the background.
Composition of elements
Then I work to add the elements of the composition in the desired scale and placement.
Pooling Paint.
Much of my style comes from using water and/or acrylic media for a very wet application of paint and letting it pool. Once this dries, the effect is much like watercolor painting.
Add medium.
I add a number of different acrylic media to my paints to change their viscosity, sheen and texture. These media also add dimension to my artwork.
Pencil work.
I often augment my paintings with pencil work. I use a wide variety of colored pencils, Conte a Paris and oil sticks, depending on the effect I want.
Finished painting.
Above is a photo of the finished acrylic painting that resulted from this process. Once the painting has fully dried over several days, then I add spray varnish to seal it from the elements.
closeup of detail.
It is difficult to get a sense of the complexity of one of my paintings without seeing it up close or in person.
installation view.
Here is where the painting lives in the Servier Pharmaceuticals lab in Boston, MA. It is always such a pleasure to know my work will be viewed by people in the medical field, especially those working hard to treat cancer.