I’ve done quite a few “bathroom selfies” in my art career so far, but a G-Rated Group Selfie is something new for me. But I was browsing through some recent photos a few days ago and when I got to a series of group selfies I had taken of myself and some of my friends and art students at Friday Happy Hour after class–which is kind of a tradition for us–I was struck by their energy and color. I thought, this would make an interesting painting!
I drew on all 3 images for inspiration. Below are some of the preliminary sketches where I worked on composition, approaches to drawing the figures, etc.
I also did a lot of drawings to explore how I was going to capture the various personalities:
Below is the final sketch. At this point I decided I was ready to start the painting.
It took me three days (more details than I’m used to) but I finished it and I’m pretty happy with the results. I call it “After-Painting Beers at Chachalaca.”
