KieferArt
"Tea Leaves" Oil on canvas, 20" x 16" $300 (US customers only) PURCHASE INFO |
This young woman was the niece of one of the other painters in a group studio session. When painting live, a model looks much different toward the end of a session than they do in the beginning. The thought progression over the hours becomes evident in their face and posture. That's why I normally wait until close to the end to get in their facial features. In this case, the girl's expression was mostly hidden, though, due to a shadow flowing across her face. It was intriguing to paint. I could actually see under that shadow, but thought I'd attempt to allow the viewer to "fill it in" so painted it as though it were part of the background. Ultimately, the "studio" look of the set, despite the interesting composition lines, prevented it from appearing anything other than what it was ... a studio set. It would have been a much better painting if I had cropped it closer, from the head to the lap, so that I could have done something unusual and specific with that shadow across her face. But, I was too far away from the model to have seen that much detail. The title "Tea Leaves" was an attempt to spotlight the area between her face and the tea cup (the contemplative aspect of the subject). To be honest, though, I think that was just an act of desparation. Focus can only be achieved by making the right choices up front. In a group studio setting, you don't have the luxury of time or the opportunity to change the position of the model or the light or even your easel without mutual agreement. But it's always a learning experience and inspiring to see how other painters see the same subject differently. | |
|
BACK TO THUMBNAILS |
||