"Rockin' R&B" 24" X 12" watercolor

Rockin' R&B by April M Rimpo

Rockin' R&B

Watercolor, mounted and varnished

24" X 12"

A friend of mine mentioned to me that her son was a musician in the Minneapolis area. She occasionally shares Facebook posts when he has live streaming shows or videos.  I loved his music and his whole persona.  He has been great to get to know via his videos. His name is Alex Rossi and you might want to check him out.  

Once I'm inspired by musicians' work it is hard to get them out of my head and I end up doing a painting of them as my tribute to their craft. Rockin' R&B is my tribute to Alex.  I had a print of the painting created for him as a means of thanks. When I gave the print to his Mom to deliver for me she told me how much she loved the painting and how much it touched her.  I was so thrilled since she is a fantastic artist and I feared it would not hold up in her eyes.  I can't described how much joy this painting has brought to me just in seeing her reaction. Thank you my friend.

Some people have expressed their interest in my painting process. I will say it varies depending on the subject matter, but for the musician series I tend to start by working on the background and then moving to the musicians.  I know a lot of artists who always start with the face when painting people because they feel that is where they will struggle the most.  I generally don't do that because I feel like capturing the emotion of the performance is most important and later I move to the details.  Here is a series of images of Rockin' R&B in progress with the finished painting at top, where I finally developed his face.

 
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