Friday, October 15, 2010

Roam


Roam started off as an abstract with no object to focus on. There are a lot of layers in this piece and after painting the first layer while waiting for it to dry, I hung it right in front of my work table where it stared me in the face... or I was staring at it, being the typical tortured artist fighting with myself over what direction the image was to go. I kept focusing on what is now the outline of the woman's cloak, but then it was just orange raindrop shapes painted over a collage. I kept envisioning a cloaked figure and could tell right where the face should go. Finally, I remembered the woman's face I had cut out of a magazine, and rifled through the small box of pictures I have for an occasion such as this. I found the face and quickly cut her into shape and decoupaged her into the scene. I then painted the outline of her cloak in red like I'd been imagining. After that I did one more layer of shapes, let it dry, and then a light brush with blue over the whole background.

Counting the dry time Roam took me two weeks to complete, as I was working with oils and in my spare time. All the while I was listening to The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand on CD, which happened to make it into my top ten list of favorite books of all time, and gave me a good reason to smile about naming my littlest Howard.:)



12 comments:

  1. thanks for commenting! what a beautiful painting!! your art is amazing, i really enjoyed browsing through your blog!

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  2. I love hearing about how this came to be...very cool looking! Love the patterns and that cloak!!

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  3. Ok I appreciate the opportunity to give my 2 cents worth.
    I envision honeycomb shaped cells in you next painting target the beekeepers in the family & see how it works ;)
    ArtsyViewpoint

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  4. Very Nice!! This is Sam

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  5. This painting is truly awesome! Thanks for stopping by my blog because your comment led me here to your fascinating work!

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  6. Hi!
    I would love to see something honeycomb too! Its so romantic and calming. Really really enjoy your work =)

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  7. Oh, gosh...how cool is this. Wonderful.
    Oh, I see you have an ETSY...going over to visit..
    Will put you on my next list..Maybe you can get some Christmas traffic. :))

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  8. Oh, I love this! It reminds me of Spirited Away for some reason I can't quite put my finger on! Love Love Love it, Sarah <3

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  9. Roam is lovely and I can definitely see numerous layers you have put into this painting. Happy creating...

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  10. Wow, you are ridiculously talented. I love the fact you describe how you created your work and what inspired it. There's a rather ethereal quality about it all, just brilliant

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  11. This is one of my favorites...I keep coming back to look at it. Quiet, serene, it calms my mind. Beautiful!

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