by Eric Fortune
I have two pieces in the upcoming group show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery next month. Â And surprise surprise I’m still scrambling to wrap up my second piece. Â I’ve been making good progress and for the last week or so I’ve been telling myself “ok, should be able to wrap this up in the next day or two”. Â But this time, seriously, I think in the next day or two I should have this done.
Below are some details of where I’m at with the piece. Â I need to add a little more value and depth to the drapery around the figure. Â The shaping of the drapery from the neck up was vaguely meandering a bit and didn’t quite flow right. Â So I’ve been deciding where the fabric should fold, flap, open up, or fade into the background etc. Â Can be a little tricky when painting transparently. Â I think it’s pretty much nailed down at this point. Â I’ve been making a lot of lateral changes. Â That is to say, depending on who you ask it may be better or not or just different. Â Of course I feel the changes are worthy but sometimes I wonder if it’s worth the time being so nit picky. Â Drifting from my reference too much can be a challenge to maintain a sense of realism and cohesiveness. Â However, it’s probably some of the more enjoyable(What!? Â Painting isn’t always enjoyable???)Â parts of painting as well. Â Not knowing exactly what’s going to happen and then finding your way…most of the time.
I also plan on adding some gray aqua greenish algae on the branches which should make for nice accents of color. Â That application will have to be a little more opaque. Â Perhaps I could soften the edges of some of the outermost branches to provide more of a focal point in the center, darken the edge of the fabric where it meets the background, detail the hands, a subtle shift in color as the figure moves from shadow to light, add a little more cow bell… Â Yeah, definitely one or two more days.
Love these posts, Fortune. Keep it up.
You must have the patience of a saint to paint like this. So much planning ahead, and not making mistakes.
Good luck with your show.
Wondering if the addition of aqua/blue greenish algae is intentional (aside from color choice) to the meaning of the painting, as blue green algae can cause negative health effects.
Anonymous- Interesting. We all project our own interpretation based on our personal experiences and perspective. For someone else algae could also represent part of a solution. Admittedly, the narrative and symbolism to much of my work is more generalized. I tend to be drawn to work that has a sense of mystery and is more open to interpretation. This likely has influenced my own work as well.