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Sunday, April 10, 2011

It Was The Sunglasses


It was the sunglasses that attracted me to this ad for Tommy Hilfiger in this months's Bazaar.

I went down to the studio determined to do something with Three Women. I soaked the paper again under running water, slapped it on a sheet of plexiglass, mopped up the excess water and lit into it. This time taking the opportunity to experiment with my different brushes--every one from the 1 1/2" house painting brush down to the fine line. Again I over did. It's tough to keep the acrylic painter from confusing the watercolorist. I blew it somewhat dry, but stopped. It was too contrived.

I wet it again, but just enough to loosen what had been done, slapped it back on the plexiglas and only painted what interested me---it was the sunglasses--spots of dark--then the hair. A few more strategic spots and I declared enough. What you see is what I got. It's time to move on.

10 comments:

  1. This is not a bad peice at all! It's very exciting. The colors are stunning, and the textures are very finished looking. I'm loosing the definition of the figure in the foreground though. That's an important element in this piece it will redirect the eye back upward. So far I'm liking it.

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  2. Thanks Bill, but this is as far as I'm going with this one. Watercolor is a hard stretch for an acrylic painter. What I like about the medium is the wet into wet and the invitation for free association, after that the illustrators can have it.

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  3. You certainly move with a great decision making ability. You are able to "see", decide and move on. The mark of a skilled artist!
    I think this is great, by the way.

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  4. This is an interesting painting-- and shows no signs of going through liftings and washings. Good work.

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  5. Yahoo, Linda!
    Very nice and cool!! Really beautiful.
    Cheers, Sadami

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  6. :) Wonderful to experiment I think. It looks like an out of focused background of a photo... Maybe you will keep it for a later project... a collage?

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  7. I find it wonderful! I really like the "misty" effect that you created, as if you were watching the scene as a short-sighted without glasses (and on the contrary the three women can see you well with their glasses...). This makes you think, and investigate the painting for knowing more. I think that sometimes what we believe is an imperfection may instead be a quality for other people... a hug!

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  8. Thank you all. But Evelyn may have the right idea--material for a future collage. This bear in a china shop did learn a lot stumbling about following my instincts.

    Years ago my talented brother in-law did a copy of The Girl with the Pearl Earring. He never finished it, but my MIL framed and hung it anyway. The unfinished painting fascinated me. I would stare at it every time we visited. I liked it. The "story" wasn't wrapped up tight;it was still breathing possibilities.

    There is something about unfinished work that attracts and holds interest. Which brings up the topic: when is a work finished? Is it ever? As we mature as artists, works we've done in our youth inevitably need a tweak here and there, if not a revamp--but it's best to leave them alone--actually get them out of sight. I put this one on my pile on the storage shelves.

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  9. This has such a tie dye effect which is so perfect for this painting. Experimenting here was successful. I hope you like it!

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  10. No I don't Margaret. It lacks the brilliance that watercolor should have. Gouache paint would be a more appropriate medium-or acrylics--and neither would be too late to try now. The painting just gave me an opportunity to push the medium around a bit. I learned more from doing that than from running the organized experiments on opacity/transparency;staining and lifting that I conducted in the post that followed.

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