Superman in gouache (when he shouldn't have been!)

So I had a Superman piece brewing upstairs one day and I figured, I'm gonna knock out something new and different by doing something retro and familiar. These days, the mythos of the "Last Son of Krypton" is inundated with Henry Cavill's "Man of Steel" (I dig it) or what DC Comics' "The New 52" is offering as its latest version of Kal-El (Not digging it since 2011). I thought I would render something resembling the late Christopher Reeve.

As you can see, this piece isn't so much Christopher Reeve as it is an amalgam of Christopher Reeve and Matt Bomer (of the USA Network's "White Collar. Interestingly enough, Bomer, who looks like he could pass as Cavill's brother, almost got the lead for 2006's "Superman Returns" but ultimately, Brandon Routh scored it. However, Bomer voiced Superman/Clark Kent on 2013's animated "Superman: Unbound").

But that wasn't my biggest problem.

No, Howlers, the biggest problem was lack of commitment to a medium and original intent. See, friends, this painting (gouache and ink on 11" X 14" Bristol Board) wasn't even supposed to be a painting. It was supposed to be ink and Prismacolor watercolor pencil on Bristol Board but I thought I would be a wise-ass and use paint instead for the sake of time and coverage. Besides, that's how I rendered my Rowdy Roddy Piper tribute and that turned out OK, right?

Wrong. That one was also something of a pain-in-the-ass BUT not as difficult as this one would turn out.

Man, I was smearing ink (something I NEVER do) and when it came time to paint., I was everywhere on the map. Not combining and blending and experiencing the glorious texture and porosity that cold press watercolor paper offers but moving color from here to there ad everywhere. Yeah, it sucked and I actually got upset at a piece for the first time in my life.

But I stuck around and finished the job.

So here you have it, Kids. Not the best painting I have to offer (and you deserve and should expect better of me. I call it a six on a 10 scale) but I'm sharing it anyway because I have to be held accountable for my art. That said, I'm right back on the artsy-fartsy horse and ready to kick off my next piece, a portrait of the Marvel Family - Captain Marvel (the REAL Cap. Not some New 52 knockoff who calls himself "Shazam." What ridiculous horseshit), Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr./CM3.

And I won't puss out on my challenges in medium. I promise. :)



Questions? Comments? Complaints? Hit me up at coyote@coyoteduran.com. You can also follow me at twitter.com/CoyoteDuran, instagram.com/coyoteduran and facebook.com/CDCreationNation.