Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Lummi Indian


















My start of this painting, happy
with this first wash.



















At this stage of the painting
I have developed the facial
structure and still thinking
about how to paint the clothing
which he is wrapped in a large
blanket up to the top of the neck
with a red starred cloth to one side.
Up to this point everything was going
ok, then I decided to use a new mixture
for the color of the dark hair and
everything went down hill from there.
I wasn't listening to that little
voice in me that said "don't do it".
Oh, but I knew better, and thought
I could make it work. Wrong! I now
deserve the prize for the biggest
mudpie painting around!

14 comments:

Carlos León Salazar said...

I think that in this kind of work the first wash is crucial
Great job!!

Elvi said...

Sono arrivata a te attraverso il blog
di Carlos Leon. Mi è piaciuto molto
Fai dei ritratti veramente belli. Elvi

Susan Liles said...

Carlos, yes, it is important.

Elvi, thanks and glad you found my blog through Carlos' blog.

Crystal Cook said...

No way! I see no mud pie here. I still think it looks fabulous Susan. You have lots of juicy colors in there. :)

Susan Liles said...

Crystal, thanks, but when I painted the hair and the blanket he was wrapped in it ended up very muddy.

Sadami said...

Dear Susan,
Thank you for visiting my blog. Your works are beautiful and very attractive. Please keep up. Please pass my best wishes to your daughter.
Kind regards, Sadami

JANE MINTER said...

susan looks striking at this stage ...sorry you feel you've messed the next stage ...can you wash lift areas ?

Anonymous said...

Hello Susan,
I just discover you blog and works.
First was is often the most important one and I consider that, after this stage, the painting is completed at 70 %.
About the dark hairs, you did well to take the risk, the next attempt will be the good one.

Catherine
http://walkonwater.canalblog.com/

Susan Liles said...

Thanks Sadami, I will send her a link to your blog.

Jane..I ruined the paper with washing it off so much. Will start over.

Catherine...Thanks for stopping by. Need to start this one again on a new paper.

Lorraine Shirkus said...

At first glance, before reading your commentary, I thought your portrait was finished, even with the unpainted areas. My thought was "look how she captured his Indian-ness perfectly without making the hair black! Something I need to be more attuned to." Seeing your beautiful painting that "was" will make me more conscious about stopping short of my own idea of "finished." Thanks so much for sharing your process.

devotedmomof7 said...

Well, I doubt it looks as bad as you think with this great start. I know people who are great at the scrubbing trick, but I always end up ruining the paper!

I read on Keiko Tanabe's site that we should make our mistakes in the studio. Practice leads to improved results. "NEXT!"

Susan Liles said...

Lorraine...oooh, glad you learned something from this post.

Devotedmom...thanks, always learning from the mistakes.

olivia said...

Great work Susan ! Wonderful colors. Lind regards.

Becky Joy said...

wonderful portrait. Very fresh, rich color