After being silent for just over a week I come back again with a new painting that I’ve been slaving over over that period of time.

Inspired by Canadian Astronaught and local hero, Chris Hadfield, I thought it was a no brainer that I had to paint a picture of him. Since December he’s been giving such good support to the space program and has painted his own image of a better world by giving interviews and taking his own pictures through photographs from above.

I decided to paint two images of Chris. One, of him as a normal human being, gazing out of a window ‘awe’ struck with his camera in his ISS uniform. But also, in the window, a reflection of a sophisticated man who has achieved great things in his lifetime. As well, I decided to take one of his photographs of the earth and use it as a reference for this painting itself too.

There were many challenges in this painting. I wanted to paint original images of him – but I still needed to use stock photo’s that I could find to capture his likeness. The image of the left is slightly out of focus, and I found it quite tricky to overcome. However, the biggest challenge of all was the 2nd face to the right. Here he is painted in a reflection, fading into the darkness of space… while being highly illuminated by the light of the sun. As well, figuring out how to give texture to the Earth and the clouds took a bit of time and practice to figure out and accomplish.

Man is pushing the boundries of exploration and wonder – and I try to do the same by pushing my own talents and capabilities. I hope that people look at my work and are as inspired by it as they are when recognizing all of the talent and achievements that a man like Chris hadfield has done.

Oil Painting