Figuratively Speaking - New Consumers

10"x10" oil

Some of my concerns have been sneaking into my paintings lately.  I try not to be overly political or socially opinionated, but we all have issues that matter to us.  I love painting children, especially in poses that are natural and not posed.  These three Tweeners are conversing about something important in front of a fashion art poster.  I have 3 granddaughters so I am paying attention to the influences our culture has on them.  I heard the phrase "Pester Power" in terms referring to children influencing the buying habits of their parents.  I don't think this is new, it just seems more excessive and high dollar.  I remember pestering my mom to buy me the shoes I wanted.  There were tears involved.  I lost.  I got sturdy tie up shoes instead.  "No," was common in my parents' vocabulary. I am concerned about how advertising is helping to define how the young girls see themselves and forming a picture for them of what it means to be a girl.  On the other hand, I love to see my girls dressed in their lovely pink dresses as they explore the world and discover its magic and mysteries...like catching salamanders!  I may have to paint this scene!  Go Figure

Naia

10"x10"  oil

Is she beautiful or what?  She is not my biological grandchild, but she is the daughter of my "almost daughter" so that makes Naia my "almost granddaughter."  Lucky me!  I also feel lucky to get to paint her.  I did the drawing below first because I have been really enjoying the process of drawing lately and it helps to get to know the subject a little better.  I then did the painting.  Since the reference photo was black and white, I had to make up the colors.  Rather than studying a bunch of other photos of her, I decided to just let the painting tell me what colors to use.  It looked rather bland to me (except the startling yellow jumper) until I mixed a little batch of paint with Rembrandt transparent red oxide and some cad yellow and white and got the punch I needed.  I love that color!  I also added purple to her hair which I think worked well.  It is hard to tell in this photo, but the purple just kind of works with the brown.  Anyway, I have been working so hard to get ready for an upcoming show (mostly framing, etc.) that it is so fun to do a painting I am pleased with.  I really hope her mom loves it too!

Two Ladies on a Couch

10"x10" oil

This came out very blue.  Sometimes I go through painting a bunch of very warm, saturated paintings and then I do a bunch of cooler and more neutral pieces.  One thing I wanted to accomplish with this was to get a sense of the rich wallpaper and how the light hit it differently.  I wanted that effect without spending a lot of time painting in specific patterns.  Maybe if I was doing this very large, then that would be more important, but I didn't want it to distract from the John Singer Sergeant painting or the the ladies that are looking at it.  There are two large Chinese vases in the painting and also two that are standing on either side of the painting at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  I loved the style of the two ladies sitting and looking at the painting.  I think this would be a fun painting to do in a larger size in warm colors.  I really enjoyed doing this and I love his work.  I also took a lot of photos of hands he paints.  I love the way they look so elegant with minimalist strokes.

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