Decided the bikini colour was too bland against the light shades of the sand. So the bikini is now a lovely shade of red; I may introduce some orange shading as time goes along. The sand is beginning to take shape as I paint in more shadows and tones; in fact I may have to soften those lines by next week as they look a little rigid at present. The shadows on the sand of the legs and the parasol stand break up what could have become a rather dull foreground. As usual, I am not a fan of brown in my palette so those shadows will veer towards purples and blues. Enjoyimg painting in the vibrant colours of the parasol, getting more definition as the painting develops. Skin tones gaining strength; horizon no longer drunken, getting there! It’s amazing what staying in a warm and colourful place like Cape Town is doing to this artist’s thoughts and ideas! I will be returning with an IPhone full of new and wonderful photos, of swimming pools, blue seas and skies and hopefully masses of colour. Africa is a vibrant place and gets under my skin just as the cliche says it…
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A complete change from the last work, less fabric, more flesh tones to deal with; both always challenging. This is very much a first draft as it were. At the moment the bikini is golden yellow but it may well change to a vivid red to give more emphasis against the sand as the composition looks a bit bland. I want to inject more colour after the more muted tones of the last painting ( see last blog, Dreaming of Lady Gaga ). I will be levelling out the horizon of course as it looks a bit drunk as it stands. I will also be adding in more colour to the sand to bring it to life more. As for the parasol, well that will burst alive with colour! I am away in Cape Town just now on a working holiday, hence this composition. I hope to take some more great sunshine shots for future paintings so keep reading my updated blogs for more info. It never ceases to surprise and uplift me when I am staying somewhere hot. The people seem more alive, the colours are just amazing and I end up wanting to paint so much more…
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This piece is 12 x 12″ (30 x 30cm) and is now finished. It is painted on gessoboard and is in oils. The title is very much tongue in cheek. When I was about half way through the work, one of my followers on Twitter suggested there was a resemblance to Lady Gaga and that I should send it to her. I had never set out to paint Lady G; this is in fact my daughter in law sitting nursing a little glass musing….. I decided to put the work up on one of the groups for artists on LinkedIn and got a lot of interesting feedback. I did stress that it was never my intention to paint Lady Gaga, which was a good thing, as several people commented that she would probably not have been happy to be painted without her permission. My own thinking is that she must get so many Tweets etc, it was highly unlikely she would look at my one photo! It was fun to see all the comments and of course I will not be sending it to her, but I couldn’t resist the title. This young woman could be looking into her…
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