Thursday, December 18, 2014

That look of otherness. . .

"She always had that look about her,
that look of otherness,
of eyes that see things much too far,
and of thoughts that wander off the edge of the world."
                                   - Joanna Harris

I wanted to try painting a girl on a black background - had never done that before so I haphazardly taped a rectangle in my art journal and painted it black with matte paint. 
Sketched a face in pencil and then started filling in with flesh paint - lightly though so that the idea of the black would maybe show through a bit.
I really like her at this point and a big part of me wishes I had stopped here - she seemed too "unfinished" at the time though so I went back to my comfort zone of black/white lines and dots. 
Maybe one day I will be brave enough to be looser - I'm always trying to "fix things" with line work instead of just stepping back and letting go a bit.  I still love her though - the blue is my favorite part - quirky and moody at the same time.
Linking to Paint Party Friday,

17 comments:

Christine said...

This is a gorgeous piece!

BrownPaperBunny said...

I really love the line work and think you did a great job! Happy PPF!

Ayala Art said...

Beautiful!

PaintingWrite said...

I know exactly what you mean about daring to be looser and less 'finished' but actually i really like the lines and dots around her.i love the blue as well and the fact that her eyes are black works perfectly with the quote. Merry Christmas.

Marianne said...

Beautiful - and really fun to see the proces.

Geckostone said...

She is BEAUTIFUL!!!Loved seeing how you brought her to life, gorgeous!!

Å olanje na domu-Waldorf said...

Wonderful! i find it challenging painting on dark background. :)

Giggles said...

She is gorgeous in both but I think she pops with those finished lines! I guess it depends which look you're going for! It's truly up to the artist isn't it! I want to be looser too!

Hugs Giggles

Lindsay said...

Such a mystic woman!

My name is Erika. said...

She is great. I love the white accents and how much they pop.

Abigail Davidson said...

Gorgeous! Works beautifully with that paper. Happy PPF!

Valerie-Jael said...

Beautiful face. I love painting onto black, it gives the colours so much strength, they really pop. Valerie

Unknown said...

Very striking!

TruffleArt said...

I love the line work and the painting - the blue is my favorite part too, Michelle. Great post - thanks for sharing the painting progress - it was interesting to see. Happy Holidays - just visiting from PPF (Truffle Art).

Alexandra MacVean said...

Michelle, she's very beautiful! I LOVE how you did the trim around her hair. :)

Cindy D. said...

So bold and vivid! I love the richness of this compared to some of your older pieces. Really cool face and design.

pauline said...

how did I miss this?! how did i miss so many of your gorgeous women?! I just LOVE the white lines & dots on this. So much more "punch" over the black. Beautiful work Michelle. xx