MADE IN JORDAN

We're on holiday in Amman at the moment.
But I did manage to find another amazing face to paint, and despite the fact that a similar image has been done to death commercially, I decided to give it a go.

Che 1928 - 1967

STEPHANE CHARBONNIER

CHARB
21.8.1967 - 7.1.2015
Formerly editor and cartoonist at
Charley Hebdo in Paris

DARK DAYS

NOTHING TO ADD...

TUTANKHAMUN - IS HE THE MOST FAMOUS EGYPTIAN?

Tutankhamun's burial mask in Cairo Museum

Well, is this the most famous Egyptian?
From a Western perspective, probably yes, although I suppose some Egyptians may have other views - eg Nasser, Sadat and Nobel Prizewinner Najib Mahfouz perhaps.
Anyway, I set myself the task of painting gold with watercolour.
It was easier than I thought it would be.
Want to give it a try?
Come on holiday to La Petite Galerie and we'll give it a go.
You can get more information here:
http://www.saatchiart.com/RayJohnstone

POP ARTIST ANDY WARHOL

Anyone who's bored with these portraits and my ramblings should maybe skip this post.

However,  continuing on with alleviating the boredom of winter, I decided, just to be a little bit different, to change to mixed media portraits to while away the hours. 

So here's another icon of twentieth century art. 

'What?' I hear some people say. (Someone even said, 'What crap!')  And, 'What's so good about Andy Warhol?'

Well, think about it this way. Anyone who's able to change the way we ACTUALLY SEE, must be someone special. 

This is what I'm getting at:

If anyone says Elizabeth Taylor or Marilyn Monroe - or even Chairman Mao, I think we remember Andy Warhol's huge, brightly coloured silkscreen paintings - rather than the person themselves. 

Anyone disagree? If 'yes' please send me an email. 

General SHERMAN

OK, OK, I know he's supposed to have invented 'scorched earth' warfare and burned the city of Colombia to the ground, amongst other disreputable acts, but remember that he was a soldier - and that's what soldiers do - they kill people (usually, but not always, the enemy) and do bad things.

My point is that I don't know much about him at all, and I certainly don't know enough about the American Civil War to work out whether the Yankees or the Confederates were the good guys or the bad guys. (While I'm writing, I've had a flash of inspiration and worked out that they were probably all bad guys.)

So the only reason I chose him as a subject is that he has the most AMAZING face.

TWO VERSIONS OF THE SAME SUBJECT

Continuing on with my theme of escaping the rigours of a northern hemisphere winter, here are two portraits of Abe Lincoln that have helped me wile away the December days and nights. 

(That's all I can think to say about them.)