Today's painting is inspired by a photo of my friend Beth during a recent vacation in the Philippines (Ph). The background behind her right ear is a life size statue of a cardinal, thus I painted it in metallic tones. For the background behind her left ear, I painted Bonnard's sky and sun. I added the bamboo sticks and my Ph roof. Beth & I bonded in our 20's as CPAs working in the Management Division of our Audit Firm. We deemed ourselves too as the " poorest" since we took public transit and our fellow staffers used family cars. After I got married & migrated to Chicago, Beth became a firm scholar in Master in Mgt. This led to speedy promotion & she was assigned to our firm's branch in Hongkong. Later she joined the private holding company of the personal banker of Saudi royal family & stayed there until 1993. Meanwhile, Beth & I lost touch for 40 years plus. When she returned to Ph, she bought a pineapple farm, owned a realty company & started painting like myself after taking art classes. An IT friend of us tracked me thru the internet. We reconnected in 2016 & became email pen pals since. Tony & I enjoyed short & sweet memories of our Ph vacations in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020,with her & also the use of her 3 cars plus driver! A prolific writer, she wrote artistic feedback of my watercolor art. She also viewed our Saturday showtime blog faithfully! I am grateful that both of us managed to reconnec with gusto & enthusiasm. Beth died of Leukemia& Lymphoma last Nov 30!
A lovely portrait and a lovely story. You really get a sense of Beth as a person. I love the way you're focusing on people as individuals. The highlights and shadows are so well done, as is the hair. I'm especially impressed with your backgrounds. While they are rich and highly textured, they always remain backgrounds and don't steal the spotlight from the subject.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful tribute. I like the composition— the little tilt of her head. That and the varied background convey the liveliness of her spirit and life. I also like how the hair & shirt are painted. They help bring her forward from the background. I’d like to know how much planning you did - or did it all just come together as you painted?
ReplyDeleteEvery picture does tell a story when you paint it, Susan. And this one is lovely and lively. The background is not just filler, but interesting, colorful and like everyone has said, doesn't take away from the subject, but adds to it. I luv the way you've painted her white hair, knowing when enough is enough so it glows. Everything about the painting is just perfect, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteNice colors in this one, and like the way the background contributes to the story.
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