I wanted to paint a really creepy and old woman who is disappearing, shriveling up into an old, wrinkled person with regrets. It's hard to explain, and I probably sound crazy, but I tried to imagine how to lady felt from the famous National Geographic cover felt (1985 I think??). Even though she appears harsh, I imagine inside she feels hurt, like she is trapped, dying, rotting inside herself.
I made the background dark and completely blue and vague, because I wanted to stay away from make perpendicular lines (like in Pagliacci's Bitter Laughter). I thought our eyes should be drawn to the burning circus, and the setting should be mysterious.
Following my comment above, I just wanted to say that your use of color to separate the subject from the background here is really effective. And you definitely limited your color use in the background, which is also effective. Do you see how limiting the colors in the background help you focus on what's important?
ReplyDeleteWithin the figure you used a lot of colors to show highlights. The light source is clear in the face on the right side, but throughout her attire using some many different colors tends to flatten the image instead of showing shadows and texture. Determining one color for highlights and another for shadows, could help you create more depth in your images.
Yes, I do see that! Less colours makes it easier for the eye to distinguish what's important I think.
ReplyDeleteAhh I see that now, I think I could've used darker shades of red and pink and made more folds in the cloth.