Frans Hals was the Dutch master of vibrantly painted characters exuding emotion, laughter, inebriation, and such comical facial expressions as the maniacal grimace or sneer that shoots over the shoulder of the Malle Babbe, or "The Witch of Haarlem." That intensely interesting subject is what I have recreated here in a whimsical portrait of a friend who posed.
I love painting Frans Hals copies because of his seemingly quick and loose brushstrokes and the fact that every line and color on his canvases is exactly what is needed in the picture and not a bit more. When I remix his pictures, I keep that looseness and show just the essence of the image instead of a slavish reproduction, while still keeping the spirit of the original. 8x10" canvas board.
It looks like I gave him a falcon instead of an owl, but I imagine this sort of witch/ tavern patron would attract any manner of fowl or rodent. This was a very fun painting, and I have another Hals remix in the works.