Oil on Canvas
14x18 inches
I haven't painted for 4 months, which also means I've been absent from CA. Finally got a break from work and needed to get back into it. So I chose to do a portrait of a friend.
I hope you like it.
All comments are welcome.
Tags:
Albums: Oil painting
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Thanks Stephen. The theme of the painting was transition from darkness towards light.
I took this from a photograph. The subject was very badly over-exposed against a boring building background.
Design: In the design phase, to make the painting work the way I wanted it to, I isolated her figure from the background. I wanted there to be a lot of space around her, giving the figure the feeling of movement. To enhance that, I placed her low in the frame, with a lot of headroom, and the edge of her profile more towards the left of the frame, unbalancing the composition. Normally you would give a figure moving right to left a lot more space on the left, so they have room to move into something. I wanted to give the sense that she is moving away from something, hence the compositional choice.
Painting: I worked in the blue, graded from dark through light, right to left. Once I had done that, I painted her face and shawl against the blue background. The contrast of chroma was high, complementaries... blue background against the warm flesh-tones, and that phase was quite harsh. I wanted to get away from that. So, with the hue and values set, I added the orange/yellows around her face, and that brought her forward and out of the background in a more lucid, gentler way.
Hope the explanation helps.
I really like this. It's something about the composition or lighting and how she's placed, but I can't put my finger on it. How did you choose where to place her? Thanks, and well done!
Anja, Cristina and Larissa - thanks for your kind comments. Nice to meet you here.
Jon, Craig and saghi - Thanks for stopping by and being a great encouragement. I look forward to catching up with your latest work while I've been off-site...
Michael - Thanks for the welcome back, I'm glad to see your smile and exclamation marks!!
Ann - Thanks for the insightful comments. Yes, my friend has been through some tough times. She's a working artist, and is moving into new areas, new ways of expression, and this painting celebrates that transition.
Beautiful technique ! She is very emotional as if receiving a blessing or strength. Her face is strong but with beauty that looks like it has been hard won. I am curious about the symbol behind her ? Significance ? The scarf, background, and hair all show movement but her features are still. The contrast adds to drama
Beautiful ...welcome back Michael!!
Great work Michael
Wow!
Very nice portrait! Facial expression is very impressive, as if at last it was over and there is light ahead! Or I am not right? But I like it!
Superb!
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