Counting the Cost

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Comment by Patricia Genever on August 17, 2013 at 9:03

Thank you Michael for your personal insight into your very emotionally stirring painting.  It completely draws me in and won't let me go....!!

Yes, I see the light and dark shadows on the face to show form, but I still cannot see the double reflections on her face you speak of...

I love the ghost like form to the right of the painting.  It just adds to the drama... 

This is indeed a masterpiece!!!

Comment by Michael Chomse on August 16, 2013 at 10:01

Hey Patricia from South Africa!

The painting is actually a frame taken from a short film I shot in Paris. It is of a friend of mine looking through a window at a shoe-shop display.

I chose this specific frame because it really represented a gamut of emotions resulting from a life-choice she had made.

The original picture is layered reflections on reflections. The red lines which are actually a part of the window supports, show the fracture, the torn nature of the place she finds herself in. If you look closely, you'll see that there are two distinct reflections of the face. The one half is closer, the other half, with the hand, is reflected on a different plane, slightly angled and appearing further away and smaller.

Hope this answers your question and thanks for asking!

Comment by Ningning Li on August 16, 2013 at 9:55

Very interesting painting!

Comment by Patricia Genever on August 15, 2013 at 8:04

Hi fellow South African....  Just one question about this very intriguing piece of artwork..  What do the red vertical bars represent?

Comment by Michael Chomse on August 3, 2013 at 19:58

Thanks, Dorian. Your smiles are always welcome!

Comment by Dorian Aronson on August 2, 2013 at 21:24

Spectacular!  Smiles : ))

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on July 23, 2013 at 1:18

Good decision. This is terrific as is. Much of the time better is the enemy of good! A good friend of mine puts his latest paintings up on his computer screen as screensavers when he thinks he is done; those little flaws have a way of rising up from the painting as the initial rush that comes from completion of the painting subsides. Also posting on this site can have the same results; there are some sharp eyes in this group. Stu

Comment by Michael Chomse on July 22, 2013 at 21:50

Thanks, Silvana, for the encouragement. It was difficult, but I enjoyed it.

Comment by Michael Chomse on July 22, 2013 at 21:49

Thanks, Stu, for the detailed advice. I do have a experience with PhotoShop, and I have tried both a blue glaze and a red glaze. I'm not sure if I want to go down that route. Right now I am thinking about simply leaving it. As they asy, it is what it is, and I'm pretty happy with it. It tells the story I want it to, I guess. I know that I could revisit the face, it really is a sketch compared to the shoe, but again, it tells the story, in it's incompleteness that I want it to.

I am going to leave it to dry for a week, and then revisit it. Again, thanks for your great response. I truly appreciate you and the other friends who give their time and artistic input on this site.

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on July 22, 2013 at 13:05

Michael, terrific composition.  I am not sure you need the glaze, but here is what I would do to find out.   If you are good enough in photoshop or any other editor, try it out there.   If you painting is not real dry yet, cover it with some kitchen wrap (Saran or other brand of polyester food wrap) and glaze over the window panelst with some zinc white and either a little diazoxazine purple or ultramarine blue plus cool transparent red (alizarin crimson, permanent rose, etc.).   The tinge of violet will kill your color and send it back and the zinc white will add some atmosphere.  If the painting is very dry (you would have had to use some alkyd medium for that to happen) paint right onto it with alkyd medium and the same pigments and adjust it with a brush or cloth; if you don't like it, take it off with some mineral spirits.  I would usually take a digital photo before and after to compare on my monitor to see which looks better.   If you do change it, post it here as a revision and put in your comments what you did so that others can learn the lesson.   This painting is quite expressive and makes a very strong statement.   Your name for the painting is great.  I can see that you really enjoy telling a story with your paintings.   Stu

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