It's time for a break. I have been hard at it this fortnight trying to catch up on the two weeks I had to take off with the flu whilst also trying to clear the deck ready for more work to come in. I have been sitting down at the drawing board at 9am and leaving it alone at 9pm, although last night I got a second wind thanks to taking a longer break with my neighbour Terri, which meant I was able to carry on until midnight before the mosquitoes kicked me out. It's not a twelve hour day as I take breaks, but it sometimes feels like it when I go to sleep and all I can see is green...
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| Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) 2015 |
So here is Lucy... she's certainly come on a bit. It has been slow going this piece. I put it down to the heat (which is remarkably hot and humid still - Granada managed to knock through another record high yesterday) and my lack of confidence. I knew right from the start that this piece would challenge me and took it on for that reason. Feeling so hesitant with my brushes has meant that I have not only used a completely different painting technique (using teeny brushes and wet washes), but also has made it so that I've very slow in getting the colour onto the paper. There are lots and lots of very thin washes in this piece. I am not slapping on the paint like a mad woman. It is a delicate hairy plant that needs a delicate touch. It also a bold plant though, and quite a showy thing in any boarder. I knew I needed to capture both characteristics and have tried to portray the bright and bold side of this species by using dramatic shadows, intense colours and by arranging them to make an 'exploding' composition.
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| Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) 2015 |
Lucy still isn't finished and I will probably go back to her after I publish this post for a few hours. I will then tweak it when I am in England. I need a longer break for tweaks so I can see all the mistakes afresh.
Hi Jess
ReplyDeleteAnother wonderful picture. I have been interested watching this work in progress & comparing it to the 'Indian Bean'. With 'Lucy', during the earlier stages, faint areas were clearly under construction, whereas with the 'Bean', the faint areas seemed to me that you were painting a leaf that was undergoing decay!
With Lucy you have achieved a new dimension with your 'greens' which I presume may well be due to the texture of the leaf and the new style you found yourself adopting.
Well Done