“Scruff” is definitely a favorite of mine. It’s a favorite because I love faces, especially
handsome ones. Beautiful bodies are great,
but there is something about a stunningly handsome face that can stop us in our
tracks. That iconic look, like Pete
Kuzak’s look, takes your breath away. Well,
it takes my breath away. Striking facial
features, like those of Kellan Lutz, Jason Statham, Chris Hemsworth, Liam
Hemsworth, Sam Worthington, Matthew Fox, Shemar Moore, Bradley Cooper, Cameron
Mathison, Rock Hudson, Marlon Brando and John Gavin are the fantasies of wet
dreams.
While “Scruff” does not look exactly like the model, it does resemble
him. Because my work is stylized and
graphic, it makes portraiture less convincing, to some. I hope to get better, with practice and time,
at creating more accurate or convincing portraits. That being said, I think capturing the
likeness of someone’s face is one of the most difficult tasks an artist can
take on.
“Scruff” was drawn and inked back in the mid 1990s. It has been updated for the blog, with the
color applied using Photoshop. Back
then it was painted with gouache and the line work was, of course, India
ink. The updated Photoshop coloring is
very similar to the color feeling from the mid 1990s. The major design changes are: the dot pattern over the blue field was added as was the stripe pattern on the seafoam green
field. These patterns were added because I felt the piece was lacking. It looked
boring. It definitely needed some
activity in the background, but not too much to take away from the model’s face. While the 1990s piece did have very dense
facial hair, I added additional scruff creating a soon-to-be-completed
goatee. I also revised his lips some, making
them fuller. I think a man’s lips can be one of the sexiest features on his face.
