La Duquesa# IX:In Progress
This is the third stage of the painting. I am removing the block-out section. This is used to protect the field on the right from paint splatter. This is actually one of the trickier parts of the process. This is an acrylic medium and the paint must be at a particular stage in the drying before pulling of the block-out. Too soon can result in a flayed and smudged edge. Too late and the edge turns to rubber and will peel off at the edge, producing a flayed and unappealling aesthetic. This is also where I get to see the contrast in the light sources.
The next stage will be to produce some linear elements iin the right and left sections. These elemnts will produce an isometric volume in space relative to the solid middle. Fingers crossed!
I have included in the scroll down a fronatl view and a side view. The sides of my work are as important as the frontal plnes. The sides allow me to set up the illusion of space as well as accentuate the "objectness" of the painting. I will be painting lines at the next stage that will emphasize the edge of the object per se and produce an illusion that thier is a slight bow on the side.
We'll see.
Please feel free to comment ay any stage.
The next stage will be to produce some linear elements iin the right and left sections. These elemnts will produce an isometric volume in space relative to the solid middle. Fingers crossed!
I have included in the scroll down a fronatl view and a side view. The sides of my work are as important as the frontal plnes. The sides allow me to set up the illusion of space as well as accentuate the "objectness" of the painting. I will be painting lines at the next stage that will emphasize the edge of the object per se and produce an illusion that thier is a slight bow on the side.
We'll see.
Please feel free to comment ay any stage.
posted by Lhombre at 6:52 PM
4 Comments:
That is a great shot of you in the process of intently pulling off the tape. It looks like newspaper is attached to it? What kind of tape - ordinary masking tape? And how do you know the precise moment to pull it, like a bandaid, off? And how do you do the gradient colouring? Not that I want you to give away all your secrets! :)
Hi Brenda! Yes. It's ordinary masking tape. But...I must tell you that it took a couple of years of trial and error to find one that worked. Some would not pull of in one piece if left on too long; some simply would not stick properly and color would run underneath; some would discolor and stain; etc., etc. I use a clear acrylic gel medium to seal the edge befoer painting. I lay one piece of tape alongside the other, usually about 1/16 to 1/8 inch space between them, then I gel it, when it dries I pull off the side that color DOES NOT go on, and the rest is easy.
As to when to pull it off see what I wrote in the post.
The gradient is done by hand with a brush ( I don't use a spray gun, etc. I want the hand process to be visible in the work. I first use an underpainting then go over with varying strokes of a clear medium mixed with very little paint so as to allow for a transparent overlay. I keep doing that until I feel it is right. This red area has four overlays.
I hope that helps. I wish there was some magic too it, but...well...actually!
Your discussing the technical aspects of composing one of your paintings is most fascinating. Of course, I have to ask what brand masking tape, of course I do.
Ah, but you don't say in your post if it's a touch test- just the right amount of stickiness and pull the tape off. Or if you do it by the time spent drying...
This piece is very geometric. Another question I have, then, is when did the Duchess move from the organic figurative to a geometric abstract? Is the latter a distillation of essence, or a mathematical equivalent, the way everything is translated into numbers and then recomposed on our screens?
Meaning, you're the programmer...
Her sash is there; Goya's colours are there. But utterly transformed.
Brenda: No there is nothing mathematical about the transformation to a more geometric rendering of the "Duchess." The truncated rhombic form is one I have explored in the past. I just "felt" that it suited the ambiance and passion of the moment! Although there are times when I speak to the issues of geometry from some philosophical observation or whatever, my work is essentiall "feeling" based. Even the dimensions are oftentimes just layed out on the flor with sticks; trying to get a feel for the "right" experience; or I guess I should say trying to "find" the moment and capture it in a flash!
Thanks for the comments and wonderful insights.
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