I think we can dispense with all pretense that I’m in any way keeping up with the “30 Paintings in 30 Days” challenge. So now that that’s out of the way, let me just say that this is my favourite “hair painting” so far. Not only did I let myself get carried away with details (so much for “daily” painting), but bonus! I also took the reference photo myself, so, FINALLY, I can claim to have created an original painting. Many thanks to my lovely and patient model, S-A, who’s probably convinced by now that she works with weirdos.
First of all, you really should see it live and in person. Trust me – the colours of her hair have a nice depth, and her skin tones are far more delicate than what you see here. For some reason, WordPress just makes this one seem garish.
But wonky colours aside, I’m not sure about proceeding this way. I can look at this painting and know exactly where I stitched stuff together (and I will always see that!), and don’t get me started on how long it took to find all the right elements! Even when I got the right shoulder and head pose (and the hair!), it didn’t always follow that the shadows matched. In fact, finding all the reference images ended up taking much longer than the actual painting!
What I like about this painting:
the fact that it’s an ORIGINAL work. I promise: there ain’t nobody nowhere walking around looking like this!
What I like less about the painting:
I couldn’t find very hi-res references, so it feels a little “fudged and slurred through the difficult passages”. But more than that, I started the painting with a sense of “why bother?”, and that’s just not the way to do it…
I will always and forever look at this painting and wonder “Do all the elements coalesce? Can anyone tell it’s a Franken-painting?”
What I learned through this process:
coming up with original ideas is HARD. And SCARY.
and ultimately, that is why some artists are strictly representational. If it’s not directly in front of them, they won’t paint it.
I miss the zen factor of painting from internet images.
What I MIGHT change…
Her hair. I liked my initial colour layout and just kept it that way, but now I wonder: does it look too unfinished?
EMMA PITTSON 