I think this painting will benefit from a slightly looser style as I do not want to paint in all the detail in the background. Painting in the people, the shutters and windows etc will take the eye away from the main composition which is the couple, she in her brilliant yellow dress. I will, however, put some more emphasis on the Arena as it is such a spectacular building. Shadows will be important and I am making use of the complimentary colours on the Colour Wheel used by artists everywhere. So against the lemon yellow of the dress I will use my favourite shades of blue, purple and light blue for the foreground and the same in the Arena, although adding in a touch of Naples Yellow and Burnt Sienna here. Michael Harding paints are so wonderful for this sort of work as the pigments are amazing, so jewel like in comparison to other paints. More expensive, but worth the layout. The view, by the way, is Verona in Italy where I spent a great couple of days on my way through from Milan by train to Venice. I hadn’t planned to stop off here, it was an…
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‘Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.’ D.W.Winnicott I am driven by my passion to paint and I love putting up my works in progress week by week as I enjoy sharing the process whereby I get to the finished artwork. BUT… there is the other side of being an artist whereby I not very forceful and spend a lot of time alone, by necessity, at my easel quite happily. So yes….. tension! With this work, I was in Verona a couple of years ago, sitting on a bench in the sunshine with my camera to hand in case something caught my eye for a possible painting. I suddenly saw this young woman in a lemon yellow dress and the contrast with the shadows of the ground and the Arena amphitheatre to me was perfect. Yellow and purple are opposites on the colour wheel and compliment each other, so I will be painting layers of purple and blue over the lilac grey of the ground and likewise on the walls of the Arena. I think this composition will work. If you would like to be kept up to…
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‘Nearly Ready’ completed and available. 19 Oct 2016
Really enjoyed completing the detail on this painting. When I think a work is finished, I turn it upside down to check details again, as mistakes will always show up, not sure why. The same is true if you look at a work in a mirror. Maybe the eye gets too attuned to the work and you can no longer see the wood for the trees. Whatever it is, it works every time. I was tempted not to put in the fabric detail in the sofa, but in the end am glad I did as it adds emphasis. It’s always difficult not to overwork a smaller painting. Bigger works involve bigger brushes so less chance of that! Building up of glazes adds delicate layers to the work, which works well on smaller paintings. It has also been interesting painting square for a change. The Ampersand board has been a real find for smaller works. The smaller brushes glide so smoothly over the surface. I wanted to convey the eager anticipation before a girl goes out on a date, something I remember from my youth :-). It’s such a happy feeling and the anticipation is sometimes more exciting than the actual…
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