sketches from life

For this one, I took the idea of roses from the last one, and combined it with the rectangular shape of the cards, but in a very different way. I used splatters and broad strokes of watered down paint first, letting it drip down the canvas as it would, then collaged on rectangles torn from some scrap fabric I had lying around to create the background. Then, using the flexible modelling paste mixed with some red paint, I created little roundish, rose-shaped dollops, which I highlighted with white paint to add some needed clarity to them. I then dragged some green (mixed with modelling paste) down from them with the palette knife for emphasis on the stems. That flexible modelling paste stuff is quite fun. 

NUMBER SIX:

Well, after looking at the rectangles from the last one, I felt like it looked kind of like a skyline, so I decided to paint this one about a city -- lots of rectangular building shapes. To continue with the rose theme, I stretched some faintly floral-patterned fabric onto the canvas first, then painted a very rough, loose impression of a city (Venice) from a picture on an old postcard. I used some thicker paint and modelling paste with a palette knife to finish off the parts I wanted to come forward a little. 

NUMBER SEVEN:

After that, I decided to use the post card from which I had taken the scene of the last painting. I also had some other post cards, most of them somewhat antiqued, which I had gotten from another student who had brought a huge box full of them to share. I liked this idea of travel and communication, so I collaged on the post cards, used pouring medium over them, and floated some old stamps (from left over post cards) and some antiqued lace into the surface.

NUMBER EIGHT:

Well, the whole time I was working with the post cards, I kept wondering about the relationships between the senders and recipients of the cards. Invariably, I wondered if there was any romantic connection between them, or if there had once been. Maybe I've just seen too many romantic movies or something, but it just seemed like such a beautiful idea. So I started thinking about love letters, and this is what came of it. The background is made up of some printouts of antique letters (in French, I believe, though the words are now so obscured that they are illegible) in lovely, sweeping calligraphy. I thought they were quite elegant. Then I painted this lovely figure over them. She was quite difficult for me, actually, as the reference I was using was very small and indistinct, and I struggled against my urge to want to make her very precise and realistic. I wanted her to be left somewhat loose and indistinct, a little painterly, yet at the same time clear. I felt it added to the "romance" of the picture. I'm...at least decently pleased with her in the end. Finally, I tied a bow with twine around the canvas, like a package to be sent to someone. 

NUMBER NINE:

The final, and my least favorite, this one came from the idea of communication, and how it has changed over time. Letter writing is kind of a lost art these days. Unfortunately, I was kind of in a hurry by the time I got to this one, and I had really struggled for a decent idea for it. So I just collaged on logos and images from popular communication methods of today -- internet, phone, etcetera. Then over the top, I placed an antique letter, similar to the one in the background of the previous painting. Over that, I sketched an inkwell and pen in charcoal. Like I said, it's my least favorite, but it's acceptable, I suppose. 

So there you have it!