I think I am fairly satisfied with this finished painting. I slowed down and sharpened up the features and the hair. Because this was a "texture" painting I wanted to capture the texture of her wispy thinning hair, the texture of her aging skin the reflective quality of her glasses and subordinate the background to the face and make the whole painting "read" as a whole. Texture can be so strong that it takes center stage and becomes the "subject". The objectives of this painting were: "vertical" composition, texture as the dominant element and red-orange as the unifying color. These objectives have been met, but is it an interesting painting? A compelling image? I'm not sure. This always happens after I have been working on and staring at the painting for days. Sometimes it is a good idea to put it away for awhile and then take it out again and see it with fresh eyes. Feel free to comment on "interesting" and "compelling". Everyone has their own response to works of art. It is helpful to hear how others respond to your work. I paint for myself, not for the buying public, not for the critics, not to please others. But, I do appreciate honest comments from others, both positive and otherwise.
I talked my sister into starting a blog today! This is the sister who did not get the "drawing gene". She does have her own unique set of talents which I admire. After reading her annual letter she sends to family and friends, I told her she needs to nurture her creative writing and a blog would be a wonderful place to start. I find her humorous outlook on life very entertaining . I have added her blog to my links. For a smile or a laugh, check out Momimax.
Mary Paquet sent me THREE paintings today for the January Challenge!!! Hope you are well on your way with your paintings, as well. Tomorrow I will set out the next set of objectives for the 2nd January painting. Don't worry about keeping up if you work slower. This is not a race, or a competition, but a motivation to engage you in art.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
JANUARY CHALLENGE FIRST PAINTING IS FINISHED!
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5 comments:
WOW - you've really pulled it off!
Oh yes, it is compelling. And very touching. She seems lost in thought, and the treatment of her skin is wonderfully tender.
One comment if I may: the light vertical shapes on the right are very similar - they may benefit from some variations.
Absolutely interesting and compelling. When I looked at your reference photo, I find it very inspiring, but your choice of colors, lighting, design and texture as well as awesome brushwork turned out a marvelous painting.
Very well done, Myrna! I like the additions you've made of the darks but you've left the face delicate and paler and the wispy hair. The glasses are great. I think it works but I might soften the shadow shape just a bit but that's just one opinion - I'd see what others say about it before going back to it.
Her expression is very compelling to me, I really have to wonder what she is thinking,is she feeling sad or just pensive?. I think that is a big reason for me for the success of the painting, After that then I got to examining the work you did to acheive that result.
I think maybe one of the vertical shapes on the right could be altered as NAVA suggested, but I don't think it would have jumped out at me if NAVA hadn't already mentioned it.
Is this someone you know or just a picture taken at the airport etc.? I think it would be a shame if the lady in the painting never got to see this picture.
Wow, Myrna, both interesing and compelling. The woman's skin and hair are so delicately done. The design is especially interesting, where the subject is not center stage. The design says a lot about aging to me.
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