February 12, 2022 – New In-Progress 24×36, Hopefully an Acrylic-Watercolor Mesh, Image ala Frederick Childe Hassam’s On the Balcony, My Painting – Dreaming With the Moon and Stars, Part 2, Struggling with the Figure

My previous post, about several series of paintings I’m seeing if I can pull off ( though one series, Impressionist Abstract panoramas, is well under way ) — I mentioned a work similar to some potential figure series I’d like to explore creating, and that’s this work — Dreaming with the Stars and Moon.

Obviously, from the initial layin with yellow, and an outline of the figure, with the same yellow lathered in for the lady’s hair — to the image beside it, with sparkly sky, quivering moon, and observant woman ( based on Childe Hassam’s painting, On The Balcony ), there’s been a huge leap! Even at this initial stage. The contrast alone provides so much context now.

But I wasn’t pleased with the angles and proportion of the female figure, even for allowing the image to be abstracted and / or semi-surreal. I fully intended ( and intend ) to paint in the woman, probably with watercolor ( vs the acrylic in the remainder of the painting ), but I felt either her upper torso needed expanding, or her lower proportion shrunk.

I couldn’t decide. So I took my project into my Affinity Photo program and experimented, finally liking the right side option below enough to give it a go.

The further fullness of the upper torso seemed to give the whole painting a deeper breadth and balance.

However, lol! – as so often occurs nowadays when I play with my art, this happened —

What happened is, while applying Goldens Light Molding Paste over the painted area to the right of the figure, I happened to apply enough for me to see another alternative – an arm! Skewed slightly sway, creating both a slight sense of motion and closing the gap to the right of the figure — and — I think, more importantly, and unintended, but extremely welcome – a more interactive stance between the figure and the night sky.

The awareness between the two, figure and her world around her, seems reciprocal and interactive….

I know one thing – it’s a whole lot easier for me to create the figure I want first, then work the background to match, than the reverse like this time, lol!

People 1st – ’cause where’s all this we keep talking and posting and writing and signing about coming from?

Ultimately, we can believe and think and hope or feel we know where these lives of ours are coming from. But somebody, something, somewhere – around us, in us, has it for certain coming through us….

In art and love, we come closest to figuring it out…

…and it’s still a mystery 💕 😊

Stay well everyone! Keep experimenting! It’s a sign of faith, and hope! ❤️

ps – below is my tweet to another of my posts, related in style and size and imagery, to this new work in progress, Dreaming with the Sky and Stars –
February 01, 2022 – The 8 Year Old Helps with Continuing In-Progress Painting, Walking With the Stars

Above tweet is live! 😊

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Thanks again everyone!

Adan

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