March 18, 2010

Kaia Larger - III




Acrylic on Canvas Panel

So, based on my head studies and what I learned there, I decided to finish this piece.

I also reworked the colors in the legs and dress to make them appear rounder and not so high contrast.

It definitely looks like a better painting, at least in terms of accuracy. Unfortunately it seems to have lost any spontaneity in the figure. I kept using smaller and smaller brushes, and zooming in on my canvas. All this flies against what I've been trying to do with landscapes, probably because a sloppily rendered tree still looks like a tree, but I know this little girl and just wan't happy with the fact that it didn't look like HER.

Still it was fun, but took about 4 times as long as the usual paintings I've been doing. I think I'll try another and see if I can keep the loose qualities I like in play.

6 comments:

Avocaken said...

Yo, Mr "G". In my humble opinion you did GOOD with this one! It seems to me that rendering figures & landscapes is similar to comparing apples & oranges. Sure, they're both shapes, but unless the person is really small, the figure needs to look like a people person, not sticks. SO, the #3 is a keeper. You done good, podnuh! :-)

GOOD JOB!
Ken B.

L.Holm said...

I think it's a wonderful painting. She's full of movement...can feel that little leg kicking the surf, and there's enough spontaneity left..Very successful!

Linda Popple said...

I can't tell that any spontaneity was lost. I like all the improvements you made. This little girl looks like she is really having a good time kicking around in the water. Nice job!!

J.Farnsworth said...

Ken,
Right on. I agree, and I think the best option for me to get what I want is to paint much bigger. That face is only an inch and a half tall. If it was 4 inches, I could have stayed with bigger brush strokes. I'll give it a whirl sometime.

J.Farnsworth said...

Thanks to the two "L" ladies,
even Kaia's mom likes it, so officially it's another "not for sale".

Camille LaRue Olsen said...

You obviously have quite an affinity for figure painting. I love this little girl and the landscape around her; your colors are wonderful and you've conveyed the light well. Beautiful!