I'm back in experimentation mode. I sketched this from an old B&W photo and toyed with using only three colors—with a catch. I mostly used just two of them, saving the third as an accent to define the focus of the painting. I'm not sure this worked. I can't decide if I needed the background to be even less colorful or if that would look gimmick-y. Or maybe the background needs to be lighter in value or less contrasty? I'll have to give it some thought and keep playing.
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12" x 9" |
Meanwhile, this is for Pat and Ken. Pat, because she wanted to see these side-by-side, and Ken, because he always questions the value of explorations with different media. Here's the same subject in watercolor and oil. The watercolor (left) is on aquaboard and sized 6" x 6". The oil (right) is on canvas board, sized 8" x 8".
My thoughts? Besides the differences in speed (weeks vs. months), the oil feels more formal and the watercolor feels livelier. She looks like she sat for the oil, while the watercolor seems more like a moment in time. On both, I do love that sweater! I don't think I have the inclination or the patience to do it again in oil pastels or colored pencil or even mosaic, so I'm done here.