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! 😊

My Related Blog Posts

My Related Amazon Affiliate Search Products
https://www.amazon.com/shop/felipeadanlerma

My Related Amazon Affiliate Search Products
https://www.amazon.com/shop/felipeadanlerma

• 
  New Painting Series – Island Land Trail Sunset Vermont 2026 – Gaining Perspective About My Experience of Painting Doing Series of SeriesFebruary 9, 2026
  It’s a welcome surprise to realize how rich one’s life experience can be, even within seemingly single short time frames themselves! I feel this new small study, with its misty soft blues and distant vistas is a nice reflection of that.
• 
  Voter ID – ReVisiting John R. Lewis’ 2021 Voting Rights Proposal That Failed – What’s Different Now – And Why Not Debate it With the Current 2026 Voting Rights – Together?February 3, 2026
  This is a short post I seldom write up. A political post. Understandly so. There’s a lot of the usual “they” don’t want this or that now talk from this or that political party.
• 
  Are We at Our Kent State Moment? – One by One the Women Came and Said, It’s Time 2026 9×12 acrylic on canvas panel – by Adan – @SaatchiArt 😊January 31, 2026
  “I still vividly remember the images on TV 1970 of students my age shot and on the ground during a demonstration against the Vietnam War”
• 
  1st Cabin Light Finished Painting 2026January 28, 2026
  Saturations of sky and earth roll and rest spin like a first slow dance in junior high – middle school the grandkids laugh and tell me they think I make all this up just to be funny 😊
• 
  1st Cabin Light Study 2 2025January 24, 2026
  Yes. The new day has begun….

*
Thanks again everyone!

Adan

Twitter / Instagram / FB @FelipeAdanLerma
Amazon Author Page – https://amzn.to/2YpgyUf
Fine Art America (FAA, Pixels) – https://felipeadan-lerma.pixels.com/