I’m having a difficult time writing this week. I’ve done some painting but have been disrupted by sad family news. My older brother is nearing the end of life, and it breaks my heart. Currently I’m making plans to try and see him before it’s too late. I knew he had been admitted to the hospital but didn’t know the extent of his illness. This is a guy who was an Army Green Beret, paratrooper, and medical doctor! Unfortunately, heart disease and joint issues run in my family and my brother has inherited all the bad genes it seems.
Before I found out about my brother, I personally wasn’t feeling well. I have a digestive disorder called collagenous colitis and is like many other inflammatory gastrointestinal conditions. Most research indicates it likely has a genetic basis and may have links to other autoimmune diseases. I get flare ups and you would think I’d recognize the symptoms by now.
Anyway, I didn’t feel much like painting but did manage to finish my painting from last week and moved on to start another along the theme of “Wine, Women, and Song.” I also spent time with the Affinity Photo 2 app and feel more comfortable creating sources using the app.
Sitting on Top of the World
I decided to further define the globe the woman is sitting on to resemble the earth. I added blues and greens and tried to make the shapes resemble Central America, a bit of Florida, South America, and some Caribbean islands. I also decided to add a hurricane whorl as this woman is a storm in the making.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1732" height="2560" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3216-scaled.jpg" alt="Painting of a woman sitting on top of the world" class="wp-image-6816" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3216-scaled.jpg 1732w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3216-203x300.jpg 203w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3216-693x1024.jpg 693w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3216-768x1135.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3216-1039x1536.jpg 1039w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3216-1385x2048.jpg 1385w" sizes="(max-width: 1732px) 100vw, 1732px" />
I then went in with oil paint and worked on the flesh tones of her face, neck, and hands. I decided to use some Phthalo Green to mimic the effect of the Northern Lights. I finished with details to her hair and clothes. What do you think?
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1663" height="2560" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3220-scaled.jpg" alt="Finished painting of a woman sitting on top of the world . She is framed by a wine goblet with penguins in it. " class="wp-image-6817" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3220-scaled.jpg 1663w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3220-195x300.jpg 195w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3220-665x1024.jpg 665w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3220-768x1182.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3220-998x1536.jpg 998w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3220-1330x2048.jpg 1330w" sizes="(max-width: 1663px) 100vw, 1663px" />
Not Dead Yet
I created a source in Affinity Photo that I thought would be an interesting painting using the theme of Wine, Women, and Song. The song part is a reference to the birds I will add to each painting. I like the attitude of this woman!
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="320" height="316" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Party-Lady.jpg" alt="Ohoto of a sassy senior lady sipping wine. " class="wp-image-6818" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Party-Lady.jpg 320w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Party-Lady-300x296.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px" />
I started with washes and drips of acrylic paint and some acrylic ink. I wanted to get the motion of the ribbons and tried tilting the canvas at a 45-degree angle.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1920" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3219-scaled.jpg" alt="Background canvas with greys and magenta color washed across the surface. " class="wp-image-6819" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3219-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3219-300x225.jpg 300w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3219-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3219-768x576.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3219-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3219-2048x1536.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />
Next, I used water-based spray paint and a stencil I recently bought to add more layers. I started the sketch in charcoal and sealed it with Workable Fixative before starting to paint.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="2560" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3222-scaled.jpg" alt="Canvas with a chrcoal sketch and stencils applied to the surface. " class="wp-image-6820" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3222-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3222-225x300.jpg 225w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3222-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3222-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3222-1536x2048.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" />
I laid in the underpainting for the main figure. This is the first “ugly stage.”
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1932" height="2560" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3223-scaled.jpg" alt="Underpainting showing a woman lifting a glass of wine." class="wp-image-6823" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3223-scaled.jpg 1932w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3223-226x300.jpg 226w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3223-773x1024.jpg 773w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3223-768x1018.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3223-1159x1536.jpg 1159w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3223-1546x2048.jpg 1546w" sizes="(max-width: 1932px) 100vw, 1932px" />
I worked more layers into the figure. I decided the rainbow ribbons that I had painted originally looked too much like a child’s crayon drawing, so I blurred it out with more washes and spray paint. I saw a wine goblet shape resulting from the blurring efforts and decided to further bring it out of the background.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="768" height="1024" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3226-768x1024.jpg" alt="Painting fo a older woman raising a glass of wine. " class="wp-image-6824" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3226-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3226-225x300.jpg 225w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3226-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3226-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3226-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />
I decided to do her hair with paper collage and started ripping and gluing papers I had previously painted and stored by color. I was thinking of also using collage for some of her clothing, but I’m liking this transparent effect that allows the early stenciling to show through.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="756" height="1024" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3227-756x1024.jpg" alt="Painting of an older woman rasing a wine glass. " class="wp-image-6825" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3227-756x1024.jpg 756w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3227-222x300.jpg 222w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3227-768x1040.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3227-1135x1536.jpg 1135w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3227-1513x2048.jpg 1513w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3227-scaled.jpg 1891w" sizes="(max-width: 756px) 100vw, 756px" />
The next steps will be to use oil paint to flesh out the skin tones on her face, neck and hand. Then I will need to decide about whether to do collage on her clothing or not. What do you think?
Takeaways
It has been a difficult week and concentrating on my art has been challenging. I find if I can get the motivation to just go and start doing something, I get lost in the process and it is comforting and meditative. I sense next week will be lost so my ability to post will be marginal.
Thank you for being here and hug your loved ones tight!
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