Experimenting with personal work

A couple of portraits that I've been experimenting with are shown at the very top of this post. These two images lead to the creation of my Gaddafi portrait 2 weeks ago and shown below in the previous post. I've been playing with how much detail and or how simple the illustration needs to be. How much is to much? How much is not enough? What resonates with the viewer best? I've also shown some previously commissioned portraits for The Los Angeles Times and PASTE magazine here, all collage and mixed media.

Libya's Muammar Gaddafi

Violence, death and Gaddafi. Here is a recent, self-initiated portrait illustration of Muammar Gaddafi. I had the urge to create this image last week and since then, Libya has been quietly rising to the top of the news . . . again. Rebel fighters are saying that they've obtained Libya's top-secret battle plan to retake Misrata. Has Gaddafi backed himself into a corner? His black, curly, iconic hair, has he grown enough over the years to weave his own noose? I couldn't help wonder what it might look like to create this concept. Here is the final result. Collage, mixed media.