Lex, acrylic on canvas

Over the past few weeks at the National Academy I worked on a figure study of Lex, a new model who coincidentally also happened to be an artist who specialized in action figure comics.

I sensed a lot of coiled up energy from Lex so in this work I attempted to combine abstract expressionism with classical realism, using intense colors and rapid brushstrokes while trying to maintain a sense of anatomical integrity and observation.

The tricky thing about young bodybuilders is that it's too easy to make them look like caricatures with their superhuman proportions. Indeed my teacher said that my figure wasn't quite as beefy the model. Lex couldn't make it to our fourth and final session - I would have modelled his abs and exposed arm a bit more but I think I'll leave the painting as is.

Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches.

Progress shots from the previous three hour sessions: