Friday, March 24, 2017

Amazing Grace - Guitar player


Amazing Grace
18 x 24
Oil on Panel

I am always looking for inspiration.  One of my favorite things to do is visit friends and relatives to see if they will model for me.  I come equipped with my hats, kimonos and other props to see what I can talk them into!  My cousins and I have "art days"...  since I moved away it may be a while before we have another!  During one of our art sessions the lovely Alice borrowed my camera and snapped some shots of her dad playing the guitar.  Christopher Russell has been in bands for years and now plays regularly at church.  I love this particular pose for so many reasons.  It is calm, the slight downward tilt of the head, the placement of the fingers and hands.  It is just everything I want in a composition.  I decided to put a glow around his head and as I glazed and added more colors daily, it really took on a life of its own.  Then I wanted to make it personal so I found out three of his favorite hymns and wrote the lyrics across the glow. 

Every painting I do is a learning experience.  I have experimented with glazing a bit but wanted to do more so I glazed the glow and also did quite a bit of glazing on the hands and face.  I wanted the face to have definite planes and temperature and color changes and I wanted the face to be the focal point with the rest of the piece out of focus just a bit.  I still have a lot to learn but with each painting I will push myself.  I am so excited about the future. 

1 comment:

Yayyy!!! Thanks for commenting!