"I would like to be remembered as someone who accomplished useful deeds, and who was a kind and loving person. I would like to leave the memory of a human being with a correct attitude and who did her best to help others." ~ Grace Kelly.
Experimenting with new techniques.
Saving Grace is an example of a new technique I learned in 2017 which I am now applying to my pet portraits. In a few days, I will publish Storm (the portrait I am holding in the photo in the right margin) painted in a pop art style. The first portrait painted in this style, Tony, is still a favourite of mine. And then I painted two purple cats...Two Pampered Cats. Prints are available of these two lovelies.
While I do paint traditional portraits, I am aware that my clients might prefer different style of portraits. Coming soon....realistic pastel portraits and collage portraits.
And now, the original post from February 2017.
Saving Grace , 11" X 15" acrylic on Canson XL watercolour paper.
After too many hours to count (ok, about 13) and endless adjustments, a little dab of colour here, smudging there, touching up in another spot, trying a different colour here, repeat over and over again, I am ready to walk away from this one and call her done.
Although I did not push through to the end with the palette knife, ( I will save that for another day) and the application of more layers of thick vivid swaths of paint, I am happy that I tried something new.
Voka's style: lots of colour.
I am painting in the style of the artist Voka, (see YouTube video below) an Austrian contemporary artist.
Big, bold, brash, his style is easy to recognize. Voka describes this art style he invented as “spontaneous realism”.
Using acrylics, he paints quickly with broad gestures. I particularly like the way he slaps the different colours onto the huge canvas with a trowel. No hesitation whatsoever.
Such is not the case with my art.
No wild dashes and dabs for me yet, no long strokes pulled out of the paint. Saving Grace reveals that I am very much in control...and that I am so far, unable to loosen up the way he does.
Well, no matter. As long as I continue to try, I am learning new techniques and enjoying myself at the same time. There is a phase in a painting beyond which I am not ready to cross.
After the many hours of struggling with Grace, I cannot risk ruining her.
On the contrary, even though I am all for experimentation in art, I feel as though I have saved Grace just in time.
your portraits are a shining example of what the fundamentals of art is about ….such lovely colour work
Wow Louise, what a great job and a very good likeness… well done !! ????
Thanks Sally…another big struggle with these colours that I am not used to working with on a painting. But I admit that I do like the end result.