Little Steps Poster ©Felipe Adan Lerma
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New Black Absorbent Ground Watercolor 6x6s from Late April 2020
Dancer in Moonlight

My previous two paintings in this series of 3 watercolor gouache on black absorbent ground, Moonlight Goblet and Nude with Robe Night, both elicited some interesting comments and feedback re my process, which I deeply appreciate! ❤️

Dancer in Moonlight is similar, created with M. Graham white gouache, and applied in varying intensities t create shape and form, and of course, ultimately, effect!

I’d mentioned in Nude in Robe Night that certain areas has a less intense black background, almost a scruffy look, created when altering the original line work. In the work below the same process can be seen around the moon. Originally, much larger, the figure and crescent seemed crowded, competing with each other, so I altered the size.

I would have liked having the dancer looking up at the moon, but it just felt weird turned either as positioned now or flipped horizontally. If I add anything else to this painting, it’d be a few stars to the top right, possibly even the Big Dipper. But I haven’t decided yet 😊

I began by sketching in the raised arm, to get a height to better fill the square 6×6 frame, realized I’d made it too large and fluffy-like, so left it and continued with the rest of the figure to get it down while my impulse to do so felt as strong as it did.

Sometimes nothing carries a painting more (for me) than letting my process flow with my feelings, and then fix things, lol!

Doesn’t always work out well that way, but when it does, it’s “very” hard to replicate the intensity of the combination of the two, feelingS and the visual process-process, “later” after delaying to “fix” something. That’s not always true for me either, ie, doesn’t work out.

But when it does, the memory of the mix of feeling and painting with a “good enough” or “wow” finished product, is extremely satisfying for me ❤️

It’s my true creative fix I believe.

So, when I finished the figure, fairly well, even if more sketchy than Nude in Robe Night, the raised fluffy arm felt like it’d taken wing to me. Outstretched, lifting. I left it, as is.

I still think I need something faint in the top right, some stars or such. Tried three, didn’t like ‘em and erased them with water – easy to do if done right away.

Anyway, that finished my set of 3 of this style, white on black.

I began another piece, also a dancer, in color, on white absorbent ground, a few days ago. Liked it, but tinkered with it a little too much. But it’s ok. I wasn’t happy enough with it, or at least the bottom half. I’ve removed most but not all the legs and gonna give it another go tomorrow or as able and will post it when done – if I don’t totally mess it up & chunk it, lol!

And going back to Dancer in Moonlight before I close, I did want to say I felt I got some of the lift of the dancer in the expressiveness, vs a static raised stand, with the up raised face my favorite portion.

I was tempted, for one brief horrible moment, to “improve” the face, and thank God I didn’t, lol! I just love the way the white gouache settled into the black ground and formed these beautiful features I can image onto 💕 It’s not something consciously done. It was lucky. A happy accident as I’ve heard Bob Ross say on the few videos of his work I’ve seen. And happy it happened ☺️

Stay well everyone! Be hopefully vigilant you are making the right decisions, day by day.

It’s the best we can do, and it’ll have to do till we get a vaccine.

And we will ❤️

Adan

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Series link – Aging Through Covid-19

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Thanks again, everyone! 😊

Adan