If you are new to this series all the images are based on recent photos of me after being fed through Faceapp (which can change age, gender, etc.), then altered in Photoshop, and then painted in Corel Painter. None of the people actually exist, and thus they are like portraits from parallel dimensions or alternate universes.
The distraught old geezer version of me in this image reminded me of Howard Beale in Network ranting and raving like a deranged prophet and imploring everyone to open their windows and scream, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore”. Those of you who’ve seen the movie might recognize the set with the clocks. I gather the clock set to Saigon time was significant because of the Vietnam war. It’s an old movie, but an absolute classic and in my top 10 for sure. I had to tweak out the wall and clocks to make them flat relative to the picture plane. Also that’s Howard’s shirt and jacket.
If you haven’t seen the movie, I very highly recommend it. Here’s a trailer, and it will make my piece make more sense in relation to it:
I’m experimenting with doing quite a lot more in the Photoshop phase.
In this alternate universe I’m playing the role of Howard Beale in a film, or I’m a mad anchorman in my own right, or I’m dreaming or hallucinating. He rather looks like he just stepped into the Twilight Zone. Whichever loose interpretation one takes, the real gist is just his expression and general appearance. The backdrop just adds a bit of context and visual information.
Here are some details:
I always choose eyes for details because they are usually my favorite part of a portrait.
I liked that there was a Los Angeles clock, because I’m born and raised in LA.
I’ve also lived in Saigon. So, the clocks also signal my own different lives in this universe at different times, here overlapping with a fictitious embodiment. Note that I blurred the text on purpose.
Did you notice my Howard looks like he recently was punched in the mouth? That just sort of happened. I didn’t do it purposely, but once I saw it emerge I enhanced it a bit.
And next up is something completely different (from this one anyway).
Here’s all 14 so far (in chronological order):
Stay tuned
~ Ends
And if you like the (experimental) sort of art that I do, and you don’t want me to have to quit or put it on a back-burner, please consider chipping in so I can keep working until I drop. Through Patreon, you can give $1 (or more) per month to help keep me going (y’know, so I don’t have to put art back on the back-burner while I slog away at a full-time job). Ah, if only I could amass a few hundred dollars per month this way, I could focus entirely on my art and writing. See how it works here.
Or go directly to my account.
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Art & Crit by Eric Wayne 
I don’t know the movie, but I like the clocks that seem to reinforce the idea of alternate dimensions/narratives. It looks like the man would make a great pair with the cranky old lady from a few weeks ago.
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You haven’t seen Network?! Uuuh. This is a MUST SEE movie. It’s not just a cult classic, it’s a full-fledged classic, one of the greatest movies ever. Great acting, great story, great analysis of politics and news and corruption that is surprisingly still relevant today. I’d almost say more relevant, as the movie has stood the test of time and politics just keeps repeating itself stupidly (ex., a dictator has gassed his own people and therefore we need to bomb other innocent people, because other people’s lives don’t mean shit, apparently).
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A dictator gassing his own people? It sounds like it’s taken straight from the news. Thanks, I’ll check it out.
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