My friend is a big Grateful Dead fan, and when he saw the painting of Len, he asked if it was Bob Weir. He then posted a picture of Bob Weir, and I decided to paint a portrait of Bob for him. I did an initial value study, and a first-draft (in which the eyes were WAY too high) before painting this. I think this version came out well, but I need to work on my ability to accurately measure and replicate a human face. This looks similar to Bob Weir, but I don’t think it’s “dead” on (heh heh heh.)

This painting was done with a very limited palette, because the source photo was black and white, and I wanted to keep that simple feel. I ended up buying the album that this portrait is used as the cover for, and listened to the music as I painted in an attempt to get in a mood that would match Bob’s style. I don’t know much about Bob Weir, or the Grateful Dead, so I think this helped me to bring some of his personality (or brand, whatever you want to call it) into the painting.

I tried to make this a looser style, because my friend liked the painting of Len, which is fairly loose, and I think I like how it came out in the end.

Another friend wants a similar painting and/or a painting of Jerry Garcia, so I have a new portrait to make soon!