Home Cooking
This piece represents my first attempt at painting Benja and it ultimately paved the way for the two final versions titled Banja and Vera. I decided to label this particular exploration Benjy and share it here to illustrate that artistic growth is a journey that requires experimentation. While it did not become the final choice for the series it was an essential step in understanding the personality and the visual depth of the subject.
I believe that growth is found in the process and in the perceived failures just as much as in the works that turn out exactly as we envision. We often hide the drafts that do not meet our expectations but those are the moments where real learning occurs. It is through these supposed failures that we discover the specific techniques or color palettes needed to make our future visions come to life exactly as we imagine them if not even better than we first conceived.
The portrait shows a young boy with a joyful and wide smile that reveals a few missing teeth which adds a layer of innocent charm to the work. He wears a dark bucket hat and a bright pink shirt that creates a striking contrast against the warm and fiery background of yellows and reds. The entire surface is covered in a heavy stippled texture that gives the image a gritty and tactile quality as if the moment is being viewed through the lens of a beautiful and weathered memory.
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