Andrew Sandberg's Fine Art

Testimony 27x46," presents the moral courage of a justice seeker in an environment that both guards and menaces her. Painted in matte acrylic on canvas, I used both contemporary news reports and imaginative romanticism to create the image. The figure herself is based on the testimony of Christine Mackinday in the case against Jon Koppenhaver who was convicted of battery, kidnapping and sexual assault of Miss Mackinday. I was inspired by her testimony and recontextualized it for this image, placing her in an environment that suggests both heaven and hell. I've included photos below, my latest video about the painting and the full playlist the documents the whole painting process. 

On Day 1, I worked in black and white, covering the garage in white gesso and sketching in my design with black paint. I started with a rough sketch and then refined it over the course of the day. I constantly walked up and down the driveway so that I could see the whole composition. This is the original concept for the design which I made in watercolor on paper.  Here it is photoshopped onto the garage door and extended into the distance with atmospheric perspective. On Day 2, I painted these distant trees, defining their structure by painting in hollows using titanium white.  I also refined the overall composition of the trees and their branches. Part of this refinement is erasing areas that I don't want, which I did by overpainting with white gesso. My goal for this day was to have a grayscale rendering of the entire composition so that tomorrow I could begin with color. Honestly, I would have been satisfied to leave it like this.  I think it looks awesome in black and white and