Kurt Cobain Portrait (Tribute to Kurt Cobain)

Lizzy Hewitt

This artwork is a tribute to an iconic artist, and the legendary creative force behind Nirvana. I wanted to immortalize in paint a person who has greatly influenced me as an artist, and the music of a whole nation. He is a genius and one of the most influential rock musicians in the history of alternative music. Without him, we wouldn’t have ‘Grunge’!
I used a tissue or cotton bud to rub and remove the black paint from the canvas to the parts of the face where the light falls. In doing so, you reveal parts of the underpainting. I didn’t use any line work at this stage but rather, from my prepared colour palette, I worked from the lightest tones to the dark tones, combined with the black paint on the canvas. I dabbed my colours on and built up my tonal range. One advantage of using this technique is that the oil stays pliable for quite a few days!

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