Mcgarren Flack

Utah, USA, Ribs, oil, 30 x 20" (76 x 51 cm)

My Inspiration

Rendering flesh is my focus with most of my paintings. It doesn’t matter if it is a close-up of a body part or full body. I enjoy the subtle nuances in the body along with the overall shapes that create a contrapposto pose. It is a difficult thing to try to capture the semi-transparent nature of skin. It has warm and cool tones right next to each other and getting the transition correct is an exciting moment. I feel like this painting expresses those changes successfully.

My Design Strategy

Most of my paintings follow the Fibonacci sequence because I believe it brings strength to a piece of art. I want people to be interested in what they are looking at so I will create paintings based on Fibonacci’s proportions. I usually try to follow the rule of thirds and because this piece is chiaroscuro I need to push the focus of light into the piece. The torso has multiple light sources so the shadow shapes can be enhanced with color and value. Plus who doesn’t like red.

My Working Process

Most of the time I will do a series of thumbnail sketches to vet the shoddy ideas. Once I have done about 20 I select one to work from. I will then schedule a time with a model and do some life studies of colors and shapes and then take photo references to use for details later. I then start the painting by preparing Alumilite panels and painting on the primed surface. I will do a quick two hour painting of the major shapes to give the piece the right feeling. After it is dry I will paint a second layer and possibly a third to refine shapes and proportions. The last thing I will do is glaze some areas where I want to push the darker values or soften transitions.

Contact Details

Email: mcgarrenflack@hotmail.com Website: www.flackstudio.com