I don't always use my own reference photos for paintings. If the image is simple enough and the message obvious enough, as it is in this image, I can usually make an interesting piece. I have done a lot of beach paintings of kids. I'm always careful to make the kids generic enough so people won't recognize them. I used a photograph by Rachael Curry, an artist friend, of her two children on a beach in Queensland. Rachael and her family live in Australia and I love the internet for this very reason. You 'meet' friends from all over when you share common interests-- in this case art. She posted a gorgeous picture in our online photo sharing forum of her children on the beach. They are obviously posing but the pose is adorable (to me) and has love written all over it.
I cropped this picture into a square format and used a warm peachy underpainting to counteract the huge quantity of blue. I also used a very limited palette of ultramarine blue, cadmium red light, raw sienna, viridian, alizarin crimson and cad yellow light. I love that she is taller than him. It just wouldn't have the same impact if they were the same height.
Young Love
6" x 6"
Oil on Gessobord™
No comments:
Post a Comment