Been a whirlwind week, 3 paintings in 1 week!? The two above are 1 and 2 (left and right) that are part of a new series of works I am calling “Cultural Commodities” Recently finished paintings on display in The Layman Group office/gallery in Auburn, AL. They will be added to the artwork section once I get good enough images.
New painting is finished. The first one I have stretched in a while. I had been painting things unstreched for a while now so that I can paint bigger and faster without having to worry about building stretchers (and costs associated with it).  I title everything, but this one doesn’t have a title yet.
New work in progress. A great deal is left to be painted, most notable the mouth and the drip running up his face yet.  Just a tiny bit smaller than the last one. I still don’t know what I am naming this series, which bothers me. I am always so certain with my paintings. 
Today’s update of the new painting. Hair, bottom lip, ears, and shirt finished. I used a different technique to do his hair, his hair in my image is in sheets sort o, so I wanted it to look like stiff flat-ironed hair. The last stage of this painting will be the fun part, putting drips and splatters all over this thing. Some think its blasphemous to do this to a painting like this, but it makes it more than just another portrait. It also makes the realistic stuff look even more real.
New painting, Its a little crazy for me. For one theres birds! Birds along with pets, horses, fish, and sunsets are things YOU JUST DONT PAINT. This painting as it relates to the other stuff I have done makes no sense at all, which is part of what makes it sort of interesting. Had a professor tell me I should take more risks, do things that could potentially become bad paintings, just to push into new territory.
Brandon Dean “Bastian” 48X72” Oil on Canvas, 2012 One of my recent paintings.