As a reformed Madison Avenue Tribeca-Based Advertising business director, I confess — I’ve imagined myself as Don Draper… sitting cross-legged in a fine suit trendy jeans, sipping Wild Turkey ginger-ale, smoking a cigarette smiling, pitching the world’s finest campaign mollifying the procurement department…

And so, here is Don Draper, my latest Antihero… in a time lapse video.

As with each of these characters, the two-part question is this — how and when to capture them? With Don, I felt a wonton pose mid-date with yet another one of his faceless ladies was it. Cool. Calm. Lucky Strike dangling with that “who, me?” look.

A collage map is an absolute must when so many headlines are involved.

Splash down.

After sifting through a sizable pile, these were the front-runners for Draper.

The next phase… trimming the materials… is time consuming. To avoid missing plot points in Mad Men while I paint, I watched Trailer Park Boys instead. Yes. You heard me.

Trimmed. Pasted. Ready for paint.

A warm under-painting, which is pretty much the standard these days. I love to work from hot to cool…

Adding the darkest darks is always the best way to work…

Working in the secondary and tertiary shadows… I then jumped ahead for the brightest brights. This is what I call the crazy robot phase. To address some materials… in Don’s left eye, a classic advertisement. The right? A war scene… to be fair, Vietnam, not Korea. I didn’t have to admit this, but anyone who knows, knows. In the shirt, Nixon, Ali, a Ray Johnson James Dean with Lucky Strike logos, Joan, Don, Don and Peggy, another Nam’ scene, another classic advertisement, a Hockney with a naked man (shout to Sal and Don’s magical hotel adventure), Kennedy and Jackson Pollock (a Rothko simply didn’t fit, apologies to Burt Cooper’s office decorum).

OK… now the face is fully painted, obviously, it required another round of tonal visitation. The background is beginning to take shape… I wanted to create a semi-abstract version of the still-frame.

OK. First, that is Colgate toothpaste in my easel. I’ve been traveling frequently (I’m typing this en route to Chicago). Second, this was the moment I turned the corner. Thank goodness for Erin, she convinced me to push onward, because, I didn’t want another Pesci painting on my hands (I painted him, failed to finish, and destroyed that canvas a few years ago).

Not that you need to know this, but my daughter Coraline joined me for the background, so I switched from Mad Men to The Muppet’s Take Manhattan. Now every time I think of this background, all I can think of is Kermit’s determined hustle to get his show on Broadway.

The shirt is done. So is the background. Oh, so tempting to call it a day, but I wanted to tighten up the facial highlights, add some new and exciting marks… some mirroring the background…

With some added visual drama, Don is complete. Captivate with the image… do things that don’t make sense. It’s not a photograph for a reason. Other artistic euphemisms. I’m pleased with this canvas — and he is available.

Added Draper bonus? Fabulous photographer Derek Van Oss rolled through the studio to snap some shots. Thank you for the connection Munish.

Look hard.

Paint hard.

It’s all in the details.