Completed 20 Dollar Saint Painting by coppermania

I completed this painting recently and felt it would be nice to share here. Although I am a professional artist, I rarely get to do any work for myself and I average about one item a year that I can eek out in my free time in the winter. Most of you know that I do professional Tattooing for a living and have entered my 16th year of performing that work on the public at large. Day in and out I listen to what it is others want and translate their desire on the body. It is a honorable but taxing process and when I get to chose the subject it has nothing to do with classic tattoo motifs.

For this piece I selected a 20 Dollar gold piece that I love so much. My mother found this frame at a thrift store for the mission that she volunteers at and I cut the board to fit it. I thought a gold coin has to go in there for sure and it saves a bundle on framing cost to recycle, plus they usually don't make frames like that in modern frame shops. Anyway, I worked with oil this time as I like the way the paint wicks up and keeps it's texture when dry. I really like doing more of an impressionistic style to the translation while still keeping with an accuracy of the coin. Like my Father says, why reproduce it like a photograph when an actual photo can do that better? And I like to say, I thought I knew a coin well until I painted one... The closeups are to show texture.

Although I could see this painting in any coin shop or collector study, I plan to simply hang this in my home as a reminder that coins and art are important to me and my family. Thanks, Matt

 

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Just beautiful! :thumb:

 

:yes:thats great!!! :yes:

 

Nice, I really like it, and the frame is perfect.

 

Just awesome. Nicely done.

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Very impressive Matt! When you get tired of looking at it I would gladly take it off your hands and hang it in my home.

 

That painting is amazing! Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

Way cool

Ms67*

 

Wow coppermania. I don't know anything about art, and what's good or what's not good. What I do know is, that is beautiful and you have some serious talent. Nice work.

 

I'm impressed - very nice!

 

Really beautiful! May have to stop in for a Lincoln cent tattoo.

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very beautiful! :hail:

 

Nice!:thumb:

 

Wow!

 

That is a gorgeous painting. Now here is a question... have you ever done a coin tattoo?

 

Excellent work..what a wonderful God given talent.

 

Nobody has guessed the grade

17 posts and nobody has asked to see the reverse. Nobody detected any rub on the high points or asked about signs of wear or copper spots.

Everyone seems to just like what they see.

 

(I know you wouldnt sell it but if I hired you to do the same thing, how much would it cost?

 

Thanks for all the kind words everybody......

This was one I did last year mainly because I get asked if I do "real art" like painting. It is a rude question to ask a tattoo artist, but now I can point to this and say I did that one. It is much larger at four feet across. I chose the Lincoln Cent because it is my favorite coin as you all know. I wanted the painting to be totally accurate and have the right mintmark style and the correct number of wheat kernels and lines and become a coin I didn't have to look at through a loupe porthole. This painting currently resides in one of my work stations and has a set of actual Lincoln Cents hanging beside it as a decoration. It is a great conversation piece and I get to preach the coin gospel to a captive audience.

This doesn't have to stay the "Matt's Art " thread. Does anyone else here feel compelled to create numismatic artwork. I think I have seen a few others pass through the forum at one time or another.
Matt