Christmas in July!

This is a painting I started in 2009.  I found a photo of George Clooney and decided to try to paint him as Santa Claus.  I'm not very good at portraits and especially with acrylic verses soft pastels.  Anyway, I did his face and then stopped.

Maybe I should have left it at that, but I'm trying to "clean-out" the half finished work that sits in the studio and takes up space.  I mean, what are you supposed to do with them?  Actually, the correct answer is:  BURN THEM!  That it the advice given by experts when it comes to your pieces that are just not up to the quality you want to project.  Every artist has them, in some cases, many of them!

So, what I did was use Thickener, which I love to use for some reason, and thicken the white paint to make all the fur on Santas hat and coat.  It is very thick and will take at least 5 days to "cure".  I hope it stays thick, it makes it look like fur.   But now, when I look at it sidewise, the white looks so stark compared to his face.  I don't know, am I ever satisfied?

Here, see for yourself!  Actually, let's NOT try to count the flaws this poor guy has!  Maybe if it were Christmas, he could inspire someone!

 Santa #2

11" x 14" x ¾" acrylic on stretched canvas

March 2, 2013

Now tell me, would you have known this was George?  Ha! Ha!  I'll say one thing, that REAL GEORGE is ONE HUNK of a GOOD LOOKIN' MAN!