Monday, November 29, 2010

2ND STANDING FIGURE - GRAPHITE AND WATERCOLOR



Back when I was working with models, this was one of my favorites.  She was always wonderful.  I really enjoyed working with her - she had a proud stance, crazy curly hair that was fun, and her mouth was a perfect bow shape.  I actually got the sketch to resemble her.




Unfortunately, I overworked the painting.  Just couldn't stop fiddling with it and it doesn't look like her at all.  But since you get the good and the bad, I'll show this one, too.  (Maybe the folks at webdesign will see this and take my name off their list??).





I think my main problem with this one was I started painting and lost my focus:  I wanted to work with blossoms to shape the shoulders, knees, etc. so I have to work with more pigment and then drop in that water and let it bleed out.  Instead, I just tried to shape the rounded bits using different color here and there.  It's okay, but not what I was trying to learn.

So, back to the drawing or painting board!

(At one point I thought about leaving her face white and making her a geisha since she was looking that way!)

Perhaps a good thing for me to do is write out my intention and then have it pinned to my bulletin board while I'm working on a painting?

Something better will come tomorrow...or the next day.

8 comments:

jgr said...

Rhonda, these are both great, I like the watercolor. Even if it's not as you had envisioned-it still looks like a figure and that's something.

Christiane Kingsley said...

Rhonda, I like the technique that you are using for these figures - it reminds me of Carol Carter s swimmers

Carol King said...

I like that idea of writing out your intention and pinning it up so you can see it while you work.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Jane. I agree - shouldn't be too hard on myself since it does look human :) hee hee

Christiane, I've been using Carol's palette colors and trying to go more bold like she does, not caring that people don't have blue knees or orange elbows :)

Carol, I think I need it when doing things like this or I start enjoying moving the paint around and lose the intention.

William K. Moore said...

I like both - they show your personal touch and are enjoyable to view.. figure work is tough at all levels and these are quite good.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks so much, Bill and Carlos. You have put a smile on my face this morning :)

Celeste Bergin said...

It is fun to see both the black and white version and the color version..both have such good qualities. I really love the graphite one..you are right, she seems "proud"--& you captured that!

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Celeste. I did capture "her" in the sketch and was glad of that.