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Description

Adam, haloed by light-struck waves of hair, leaning forward, face half hidden in shadow, the soft focus of our view matching that of his distant dark gaze under a lightly knit brow, wedding band gleaming as the forefinger of his loosely curled left hand brushes across his clean shaven upper lip pensively.

Look, John Oliver dubbed him a "brooding hillock" for a reason.

Adam was just beginning to film "White Noise" when this was taken; his face is sleek with the weight he was gaining to play Jack, hair trimmed to a length that hides his ears but is also easy enough to hide under a wig, though I imagine the curls making a tiny duck tail right at his collar gave them fits from time to time. The collar pushing those curls out is one of the eponymous denim chambray shirts he seemed to wear everywhere that summer, though what's notable about this one is just how wrinkled the collar is; the angle of the lighting emphasizes those wrinkles so much that it almost looks like it's been smocked, even though I know, from other photos taken during this same shoot, that it hasn't been. Thanks to the focal depth of the camera we have a clear view of that collar, the light shining through the fine hairs of the curl next to Adam's right ear, and not a lot else.

I suspect that Adam was adjusting himself in his seat when this was snapped, which would have moved his face forward in frame, and out of the camera's carefully set focus. The result is a beautifully dreamy softness that accentuates the way he darkly looms in the frame. Most of the features on Adam's left side are nearly impossible to make out, hidden by the shadow cast by his brow, the prow of his nose, and his hand, but the light from behind and to his left picks up the underside of that deep brow, and shines on the edge of his nare as well as the divot on the side of his nose.

Photo used for reference was taken by Daniel Shea on 16 June 2021 for the "M, le Magazine du Monde" Cannes edition, which was published on 1 Jul 2021.

About 8 hours of painting time; it's both easier and harder when working with a reference this blurry, because the pressure of getting the fine details Just So isn't there, but getting the amount of blur to be just right IS. It does mean I don't spend forever rendering every tiny mark on his skin though, which, while I love doing that, does take forever sometimes. Decided at the last minute that my usual horror of a stark white background still applies, so I filled in with black and am much happier overall.

Description

Adam, haloed by light-struck waves of hair, leaning forward, face half hidden in shadow, the soft focus of our view matching that of his distant dark gaze under a lightly knit brow, wedding band gleaming as the forefinger of his loosely curled left hand brushes across his clean shaven upper lip pensively.

Look, John Oliver dubbed him a "brooding hillock" for a reason.

Adam was just beginning to film "White Noise" when this was taken; his face is sleek with the weight he was gaining to play Jack, hair trimmed to a length that hides his ears but is also easy enough to hide under a wig, though I imagine the curls making a tiny duck tail right at his collar gave them fits from time to time. The collar pushing those curls out is one of the eponymous denim chambray shirts he seemed to wear everywhere that summer, though what's notable about this one is just how wrinkled the collar is; the angle of the lighting emphasizes those wrinkles so much that it almost looks like it's been smocked, even though I know, from other photos taken during this same shoot, that it hasn't been. Thanks to the focal depth of the camera we have a clear view of that collar, the light shining through the fine hairs of the curl next to Adam's right ear, and not a lot else.

I suspect that Adam was adjusting himself in his seat when this was snapped, which would have moved his face forward in frame, and out of the camera's carefully set focus. The result is a beautifully dreamy softness that accentuates the way he darkly looms in the frame. Most of the features on Adam's left side are nearly impossible to make out, hidden by the shadow cast by his brow, the prow of his nose, and his hand, but the light from behind and to his left picks up the underside of that deep brow, and shines on the edge of his nare as well as the divot on the side of his nose.

Photo used for reference was taken by Daniel Shea on 16 June 2021 for the "M, le Magazine du Monde" Cannes edition, which was published on 1 Jul 2021.

About 8 hours of painting time; it's both easier and harder when working with a reference this blurry, because the pressure of getting the fine details Just So isn't there, but getting the amount of blur to be just right IS. It does mean I don't spend forever rendering every tiny mark on his skin though, which, while I love doing that, does take forever sometimes. Decided at the last minute that my usual horror of a stark white background still applies, so I filled in with black and am much happier overall.