When I started this painting I made several thick layers of paint to give texture. How this texture looked wasn't a problem, as long as there was another aspect to look at. Every morning I see how this texture has worked out for me. In some light the painting looks like a smoothed faced me, but when the light is coming from the side, I see a deteriorated older version of myself. The light shining on the texture casts shadows and makes the skin look aged. Take a look....
Figure 01
Figure 02 Figure 03
Hey! This looks nothing like you! :D
ReplyDeleteAbout the texture - and I'm rolling off on a tangent here so apologies - but I know a lot of painters in the past have worked very purposefully to 'veneer' their work so that the brush strokes and texture are hidden from the viewer.
For example Tamara de Lempicka was very precise about making sure her paintings did not reveal any of the process - absolutely pristine works of art - except for this one:
http://en.wahooart.com/A55A04/w.nsf/OPRA/BRUE-6WHLV9/$File/Tamara%20de%20Lempicka%20-%20portrait%20of%20man%20unfinished%20(1928)%20.JPG
If you notice his left hand is unfinished and the texture and scrappy markings of the paint remain which is very not Lempicka-like at all.
If you know the story of this painting - or the man, her husband - then just by the simple of act of 'texture' it becomes probably the most interesting and revealing painting she ever produced.
Thanks Tom, it's very insightful inside that mind of yours. :D
ReplyDeleteDo you really think it looks nothing like me? You see I can use two get out clauses here, I could say either - You haven't seen me when I fall out of bed, crawl into my studio and paint, thats what the image is of, so it's pretty accurate. Or the other option, I could use the one that says - It's not a physically representational portrait of myself, it's one to capture my spirit- which would then make it look like I'm a very boring person. Haha, either way, I like it :D and your link, I like this image, I'm intrigued to read more into it. :)
Haha - no, it does look like you of course. Structurally at least! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd the image is "Portrait of a Man or Mr. Tadeusz de Lempicki" There's a bit of information on it in this documentary about 14 minutes in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcz0ByUvMlI