Yellow Lucy (#3)
Sunday, May 21st, 2006
May I present the third in what will be a series of four Lucy paintings (blue is next, but not for awhile, I think). By now you’re probably all sick of seeing paintings of Lucy and I’m (almost) sick of painting her, adorable and photogenic as she is. Actually, what I’m most sick of is not her cute face, but rather the colors I’m using. I have burnt sienna oozing out my ears! It’s not a bad color for an earth tone, but still–brown is brown. And brown is not a fun color.
I like the composition on this a lot, the off-center focal point with a lot of background. The yellow background is absolutely glorious (it’s a little brighter in real life) and I would love to see all three of these paintings hanging in a row on a wall. Perhaps if we ever finish our basement? That said, I’m not sure if I’m entirely pleased with the painting as a whole. I feel as though it’s lacking something, but I couldn’t begin to say what. Perhaps it’s that it’s a little bit simpler than the previous two, or it could just be that I’m bored and have spent too many hours staring at it. Either way, although I’m tentatively calling it finished, I think I’m going to post it for crit on WetCanvas and see if anyone there has suggestions.
I find I have less and less to say about these paintings the more of them I do. They’re great fun and I’m loving the results I’m getting, but they’re also on the self-explanatory side. (”Yellow Lucy” acrylic on canvas, 20×24″)
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My initial plan was to do a pencil still life next, to hone my life drawing (rather than photograph drawing) skills, but I have yet to find a grouping of items with any sort of interest. Instead, I think I’ll try out both the Colourfix paper and my new Rembrandt pastels in a rendering of this photo of Muckross Abbey I took in Ireland. I haven’t picked up a pastel in more than a year, which is odd, since they used to be my very favorite medium. I’m looking forward to going back to them.
