Expressing Emotion
 

Lately I've been intrigued by the thought of expressing strong emotions in my figuratives, and even portraits actually. This is a tricky thing since some strong emotions are not always pleasant. Trying to get this across while still keeping the painting from being dark, depressing, overly illustrative...or just plain pleasant enough that it is still sellable is a tough one.

So far my thoughts on this are to use body language, but not facial expressions that are too extreme...and to rely on the title as well.

Any thoughts on this? I'd love to see examples as well of work you think does this sucessfully.

I'll post an example of one I love by the artist Alyssa Monks. It's title is 'I Miss Your Laugh'. I find it strong emotionally - I wont forget this image, but it isnt so instense you wouldn't hang it on your wall. Im speaking for myself of course.

What a great subject to explore! I am very interested to see what pops up in this thread.

I love the image you included, too.

Great image -- I look forward to seeing the painted result!

Michele,

That IS the painting. It is a painting by the artist Alyssa Monks.

Im afraid this thread will not take off here as I posted it on another forum as well and several of our members have disected it over there fairly well. :sunnysmil

Hi Kim, I find this a very important & sensitive subject.

This is a beautiful painting & well titled. I love this kind of drama.

What is art if we shy away from the emotion of it all.!?
Fake, I would say. ... meaningless.

good thread.

( what other forum ? - PM me ?)

I like the topic and haven't seen it on the other forum. I agree with Tricia - what is art, to shy away from emotion? Certainly, an artist needs to generate sales to be in business, but that's not what it's all about. If it was, the world would be without "The Scream" by Munch, or much of Goya's work.

www.forumsalon.com

is the address I think - for the Online Artists Guild

Kim thank you for showing her work, I just checked out her site. Amazing and interesting!

Thanks for posting her work -- it is really terrific, isn't it? (I only wish decent art education had been available when I was her age....!)

As far as expressing emotion in your work, pleasant or otherwise, I would say it depends on what your overall goals are. If an artist primarily wants to "express himself" and "make a statement" with little need for an income from his or her art, the artist has all the flexibility in the world. Some of Alyssa Monk's work I'd be happy to hang on my walls, but not all of it.

Speaking as someone whose kids need braces and whose family depends heavily on my income, however, I can't afford to paint things that are depressing or make people uncomfortable. That issue in and of itself decides what I paint, pretty much. I paint things that I know will be sold, and I make sure of it by doing just commissioned work.

Ambiguity and wonder
 

I find there is a fine line between corny and not corny. When a painting is corny or overdone in some way, it makes me cringe. Kim, your work is not like that, at least what I've seen of it.

I'm probably talking more about what I prefer to paint. I find that, if I set out just to paint someone, I usually am more successful at picking up the subtle emotions than if I set out to do a thematic painting and make the emotion obvious.

I guess I'm not really moved to paint anguish and despair, though I admire those who can do so successfully. I still think the paintings I most enjoy looking at are those with some degree of ambiguity. For instance, Kim, your Unrequited raises some question in the viewer, even if one knows the title. I keep staring at it, wondering what is going on in her mind and emotions even though I empathize strongly. I like staring at a painting, wondering what the person is feeling and thinking, wondering what the person is/was like.

Alex

Monk's work is really interesting, thanks for making us aware of it. I think she has a very different audience than the professional portrait artist, an audience that is probably looking for edgier work, and I can't help being a bit jealous.

Michele, i relate to your comment about kids who need braces. That's why I turned to portrait commissions (and my guess is a lot of people on this forum would agree) it was the best way I could figure out to make money as a working mom with skills I already had, and still have the flexibility to be there for my kids.

Its been a struggle for since the first commision to balance what I knew and loved about painting before, with what I've learned about pleasing the client since. The emotional qualities are always key in what parents want to see in their children.

By the way, do people know The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression ?
Gary Faigin is extremely thorough in breaking down the anatomy of emotional expression in the face, and I've found this a useful reference for myself, and for teaching.

Oh - I just saw all these replies.

Michele, your absolutely right. It is a whole different ball game. There are commissions, which is money upfront and then there is trying to sell paintings that are your own ideas. Most clients are not going to be interested in showing strong emotions in their portraits. I keep thinking if I lived in a different part of the country I'd be doing more commissions. I love doing the figurative work, but you never do know when one is going to sell. I've personally had better luck with selling figuratives though. I wouldnt turn down decent commissions, but I like going the gallery route too. There is a certain amount of joy in being able to develop your own ideas and express them. There arent clients to contend with, but you still have to consider the market to some degree. I wouldnt want to get into the real anguish and despair type of paintings either....unless it could be done and still be beautiful maybe.

For me personally, the perfect balance would be to do figuratives and a good healthy amount of portraits as well. That would be the best of both worlds.

Alex, thank you! I love hearing that you are wondering about what she is thinking. Just that it would be interesting enough to wonder about means its sucessful to me.

And by the way, my daughter just got braces last month - wish me luck!

Yes, the author runs the Art Academy here in Seattle. A nice guy and very talented artist, too. When I met him I thanked him for writing the book and told him it had saved my hide more than once when faces I was painting needed help!