Brad Rice's Icons

Read about the pieces and check your knowledge of the icons. View the answers here.

I've tried to include icons from across generations deliberately, but admittedly, my icons are people who influenced me and I am a baby boomer. Icons is a statement about diversity and inclusion. The people I've depicted are trailblazers and individuals who are very unique and different. It's my view that embracing diversity enriches our lives.

My technique definitely evolved as I worked through the images. I feel like I was painting more expressionistically toward the final pieces before my deadline to hang the show. I prefer a more painterly expression. I achieved that by purposely using a larger brush than I was previously using forcing myself to see larger shapes and tones before whittling them down into more detail. I tried not to get too tight and let those broad forms work for me.

I like Lucian Freud's loose brushwork. I used brighter colors than his more traditional color palette. I enjoy bright colors. Sometimes I even used florescent color, which is biting, but it worked for certain individuals.