The Many Roles of Yuthana Boonorm
Acrylic on Canvas
80 x 60 cm
November 2014
Ever since I was young, I considered my father my role model. He wasn't the perfect human, or the perfect father. But he was still amazing to me. As I tagged along to his many events, I noticed one thing: I couldn't exactly describe was his job was. At home, of course his job is to be my father, to care for me, tell me funny, lame jokes. He is also a teacher, who teaches me many different things, from how to get past a level in a game, to what 'good music' really is, to the language of movies. However, he didn't only teach me. Even outside, or in his office, he is constantly teaching. Sometimes they are lectures on how to think. Sometimes it is a correction on a presentation. This also made him a leader. Whether backstage or at the control, he kept his eyes on everything, guiding everyone from the lighting team to the performers. By being the backbone of all these events and projects, one job was the most important: to be a thinker. In my eyes, his mind is somehow constantly capable of coming up with unique, interesting ideas. Ones that inspired me, and many others. All of these roles, I presented in my piece through pop culture icons, each as a 'role' my father constantly had to 'play.' Inspired by his teachings and excitement in showing me his favourite movies, I believe this is the best method to show the many roles of the man I respect the most.
From this painting(s), I learnt a lot about acrylics. This is also the first time I got to paint a portrait (let alone four), so a lot of mistakes were made. By covering all these mistakes, I learnt how much I can layer acrylic paint on each other without it showing. I also learnt how I can create gradient through wet and dry techniques. Many times I ran out of a color I mixed myself. From this I learnt how hard it is to mix up the exact same color again, and how I should make sure I have mixed enough paint. Reference photos are also a big help in realistic painting.
In the end, a couple of details came out wrong. The facial details on the 'pink' one came out the best, but it didn't come out the same in the other pieces. The glossy, plastic texture of the darth vader one came out really nicely, but the eyes obviously couldn't compete with the pink one. There are many other little details I could point out, but being my first acrylic portrait(s), I feel really satisfied with this piece.
(It also made the perfect present)