Father's Day Portrait - The Boxer

I was so excited to work on this awesome Father's day gift for an athlete from his wife.  Inspired by a portrait I painted of a bodybuilder with a superman tattoo, she sent me several photos of her husband in and out of the boxing ring.  I combined a couple of the photos for the large oil portrait.

I wanted to create a strong, energetic, and powerful image of an athlete.

There are several of layers of color, and I built up a lot of texture on the surface as well.

This was one of my favorite parts - the small scene of him boxing in the ring.  I like the loose brushwork and the indication of the feet without defining everything.  The movement of the boxers is a great compliment to his stoic gaze above.

Sometimes I am diligent about taking process photos, and this was one of those paintings that inspired me to capture each stage.  I linked the photos together in this short video...

Creating custom portraits like this are truly rewarding.