I have just completed this study in acrylic on board (11"x16") of one of my workshop students. I thought that I'd just start to rough paint without laying down a prelim. dark or middle tone. I went right into the eyes, and nose, and mouth crude and rude. Why? Just to see what would happen, after all I'm working with an opaque medium unlike what I'm used to with watercolors. Ya need to plan somewhat carefully with watercolors, so doing this portrait willy nilly was kinda fun!
When I was finished, I looked, cogitated, and said to myself..."self, this looks like a woman I've seen before. This looks like Venus in Bottecelli's (spelling!?) famous Italian Renaissance painting. By golly and gee wiz, I think I'm correct in this. What do you think?
8 comments:
Nice one! Real expressive brush strokes, and wonderful eyes. Oh yeah, she really does look alike. A sexier, modern Venus, sans the shell.
I actually take this jump-in approach with watercolor too, to stretch myself. No primary drawing, just with the brush, Kamikaze-style. It's fun, and the results are positively surprising (well, sometimes).
Oh, as for getting a face on OnPainting's blog - I simply opened myself an account on WordPress, and uploaded a photo. Anything to get rid of those stupid avatars they assign to us Blogger people.
Nava: What a coincidence! You posted this comment right after I posted the photos! Yea, it's the Kmikaze approach. No bravery with acrylic but h2o is a whole another matter! Even when one carefully plans out an h2o, it still can seem kamikaze! Well, Nava...bonzai!!!!!
We are samuri!!
Sometimes you just have to jump in with your intuition. One of the best things about being an artist is there's no right way.
She's the essence of Venus. Beautifully done.
I see a sort of NC Wyeth quality in this painting.
What a great portrait! It looks
like an oil painting. I don't
know how you did that with
acrylics. She's Botticelli updated.
Barbara
Mary: I gotta check out NC Weth. I've seen his work before, but it's been awhile.
Barbara: Yes, acrylic dries fast, but since I'm a water color artist as well, I paint fast. And painting fast is not a bad thing if you like a looser style!
Wow! That's a beautiful painting!
Thanks so much Takyce.
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