Saturday, December 3, 2011

RETURN OF THE CAW GIRL



I finally felt like going back to this one - it was a shift in thinking and working to go from small 4" x 6" postcards to this full sheet (22" x 30") so I had to be in the right mood.

The background is untouched so I cropped it down a bit, making this almost a square (so it's not really 22 x 30, closer to 22 x 25).


Although she's not finished, there are just some tweaks to make it dso (softening here and there, adding a darker value  here and there, etc.).

Honest opinions, please!

Caw Girl #2 is started and is in the drawing stages so I'll be working on that this weekend.  I intend to do at least 3 of these, maybe more.  Maybe at the end of the year I'll have a big crow show on the blog :)

9 comments:

Carol Blackburn said...

Rhonda, she looks like an old crow. I hope that's the look you were going for. I think she worships crows and wants to be like them. If she were mine I would add a crow necklace around her neck to show her dedication to and oneness with the crow. Some food for thought? Caw!

Anonymous said...

She is very expressive so well done!! I love the title and can't wait to see the Crow Show at the end of the year!

JANE MINTER said...

very strong piece rhonda ...i really like it ...i like the compostion and white bg with figure and 2 crows ..intersesting to see how you finish it .will be a brilliant series.

Nick said...

Hey Rhonda, I see the you're still answering the caw. har har She looks good, I think working larger is the right idea not only for impact, but it also gives you more margin for error. That can be decisive in figure and portrait work. The shirt or top isn't working for me. But without worrying about that, if it were mine, I'd hit the whole thing with a bucket of water to see what happens. A useful technique that can bring the whole picture together in a good, watery way. You'll lose some edges which I think is good. If any important detail is lost, simply repaint. Takes a little nerve the first time, but try it, you might like it!

Unknown said...

An old crow she is for sure and appears as if she's talking in crow language to them. Very uniquely you! Nice job.

Lisa Le Quelenec said...

She's certainly a lady I wouldn't want to mess with, although something tells me she has a heart of gold. I really don't know why but when I look at it I think of Macbeth's witches and hear Manilow's Copacabana, now there's a strange contrast...
The only thing I would change is her top by softening the left edge and fading it out from where the red ends. It feels a little too square to my eye and fights with the triangles of the composition.
This is such a great theme for a series of work. I can't wait to see more.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Carol, Sherry, Jane, for your comments on this one.

Nick, as always you go for something drastic! It goes to the root of attachment and how precious we decide our work has become as we work on it. Throw a bucket of water on it and see what happens? What would I lose by doing that - and what would I gain? (The top isn't working for me, either, but haven't figured out what to do with it yet to make it work - is a good dunking the key?) Whether I do it or chicken out, thanks for being honest!

Thanks, Linda and Lisa. Lisa, you caught the bottom problem, too - something not right, too stiff, unfinished but not in a good way. I'll give it some thinking - and maybe a bucket of water, as Nick suggested!

hw (hallie) farber said...

A Crow Show! Bucket of water? That's interesting but I don't think I could do it.

RH Carpenter said...

Hallie, I didn't dunk it or pour a bucket over it but I did something close - something Nick does in his workshops (we'll see if it helped when it dries and I give it another look).