Not many organizations can put together an incredible benefit on THREE days notice. This reality, of course, does not apply to Mike Mancini, his team and The Influence Series. Gild Hall shot to life minutes after 6PM, with complimentary cocktails flowing thanks to Chivas Regal — and I set-up my easel to capture the action real time.
Last summer I was fortunate to receive this wonderful feature article in the Wall Street Journal Japan, which lead to the acquisition of my Apple Store Painting. Energy is a two way street… so after the jump, check out the creation of this painting which will go on auction to help the people of Japan.
Starting the process with the location of the spectacular Gild Hall, and the event’s Twitter hashtag.
An overview of the lounge, and my easel set-up.
Live event painting is all about understanding how long you have, and how quickly you must operate. It all starts with the composition.
A secondary compositional refinement in cadmium orange.
I’ve been doing a lot more finger painting lately, it’s not just the hotness for pre-schoolers anymore. Shot courtesy of Red Handed Imagery, check-out Sean Murdock, he is an excellent photographer.
Getting the mood, laying down some darker colors… mahogany a’plenty in this lounge.
Notice how the same shade of blue looks decidedly lighter against yellow?
That couch is plush, and will eventually be completely painted over.
Love throwing down some shadows…
Painting is starting to get weird, thanks to a layer of lights. Here, I am beginning to add some folks, to capture the ruckus benefit with flare.
Further defining the shapes… adding the outlines of some people, building depth.
That’s me, painting away. Live painting means getting covered in paint, which results in a lot of incidental fingerprints… all part of the paintings DNA. Photo courtesy of my good friend and hockey teammate — Brad Bartolomeo.
People starting to float in the lounge.
Some yellows, highlights.
Starting to feel like the real-time event that was unfolding before me.
It’s not so much my focus as it is my beards.
Almost there with some red flares… feeling the painting on the wall just above the candles.
One turn table and a signature.
Yours truly looking busted tired, and the dashing Mike Mancini. Here’s a big thanks to a wonderful event. As soon as the auction details become available, I will post them here on the blog. Please place a bid to help the people of Japan! In the meantime, here is Impact Magazine’s coverage of the event.
[...] to personally help the people of Japan. During The Influence Series #WeLoveJapan event, I created a painting of the relief party. This work of art is now up for auction through Charity Buzz. If you would like [...]
[...] has live-painted for charities including Broadway Cares NY,Broadway Cares Las Vegas and We Love Japan. Additionally, Borbay has donated work for auction to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Children [...]