La nonette (drawing version )
 

Hi,
I couldn't resist to draw her !

16" x 20", the customary 3 colors : charcoal, and cont

Lovely... I'd love to hang it on my wall.

Ps.
 

Would please share some close-ups?

Another beauty with grace. Take a bow. Is it the same type of paper?

Hello Bonfim and Mischa !
Thank you for the comments.
Sorry, I forgot to say that it's on Fabriano artistico paper.
Here are some close-ups.

Holy cow! Excellent work. I thought it was an oil painting.

Oh my gosh! Every post of yours is such a treat. This is just delightful!

Lovely, Marina. Your marks are so unforced, as though you are telling us a story with great confidence and relaxation. You obviously enjoy what you do very, very much. Very well done!

Dear Marina,

You get better and better! I don't think there are adequate superlatives for a mastepiece of this accomplishment level. How you imply a full spectrum of color happening from just black, red, and sanguine, is pure magic! I love everything about the composition and content of this drawing. In response to this, one could compose a best selling child's book of verse that would celebrate this masterpiece for generations; it's that compelling! Bravo! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Garth

Marina, where were you when my kids were little? I would have loved to have such a beautiful painting of them. I must have missed this somewhere, but who is your little model? Her character is absolutely the right subject for your style. Just beautiful as always!

Thank you Jeff! It appears that most of my charcoal-sanguine drawings look like painting. I'm glad you told me that: it means that this one makes no exception...

Lisa,
thanks a lot!

Thomasin,
yes I was relax to draw this one, like you with your lovely watercolor, I just allowed me more sentimentality and sweet emotion than in my drawing "Unveiling"...

Thanks Garth!
I was interrested to see if I could developp an athmosphere different from a simple black backgroung, keeping just those 3 colors. I'm glad you think it works.
About the child's book, it's a good idea! I don't remember if I already showed you the one I made in collaboration with my mother who is a bookbinder : I had fun doing this, though it was a challenge to paint a figure so small! (3,5" x4,5" )

Hi Enzie!
I missed this also when my first daughter was a baby... I'm happy that I grow as an artist quick enough to give life to my ideas, as my second daughter grows too... She is my favorite model, because she is generally available, ( and she learned this pose since she was really small...She was also my model in " cherub"). I sometimes have other young models, and I like to change, but everything seems so easy with my own daughter as it became a game she likes to play ( and she's becoming a good actress!)
thanks for the comment.

Marina, this is delightful as ever. She does not only look cute, I think she looks as a little bored fairy that is about to cause mayhem!

Ilaria

Wow, Marina! Every time you post, I can't imagine how you would top this one--but you manage to! I can't get over how you can use this adorably cute child to create something that is so un-cute, so powerful, so archetypal. The bird is incredible, too. Every element seems to imply meaning, but the meaning is not trite or obvious. I love the mysterious monochromatic background, like a forest in a fairy tale. There is a powerful drive and vision in your work.

I enjoyed seeing your beautiful illustration for the children's book, too. Writing and illustrating children's books was my first ambition, and I would still like to do it some day.

Another excellent, exquisite piece, Marina! You pose your children in such a unique, unaffected, and natural way. This, coupled with your mastery and dominion of your medium make your work truly irresistible, and a joy to keep coming back to look at. (and that tiny bookcover is such a little gem!)

Congratulations!

I'm hesitant to ask, because I hate to pry, but could you speak to the metaphorical meaning of the work? The child with bird metaphor held a specific meaning at the turn of the 20th century - what does it mean in this work?

Beautiful, charming, atmospheric and sensitive work as always - Marina, you just keep getting better and better.

Fabulous piece - I'd hang that on my wall in a heartbeat.

I can't say it any better than everyone else has - but, I share their sentiments.

Part of what I love about your style is it never looks forced. Everything seems to flow properly into the next, shadows are kept indistinct, your edges are perfectly soft where they need to be and hard where they need it, too. It's the work of a truly mature artist.

Marina--

I can't add to everyone's comments except to say that your work has been a major contribution to the Forum, in that, as Alex has said, you've shown us how to re-invision children's portraiture. Your subjects are no less cute or charming, but your treatment of them is so unconventional and deeply felt it makes them as complex and important as they are in life.

Terrific as always!

Ilaria,
I'm amazed that you saw her real nature through this drawing !( except that she's not a fairy in real life :) )

Alex,
thank you.It's interresting that you find it un-cute and powerful also, I was thinking that it was much more "cute" than my other works. I would not be able to create only disturbing or provocative pictures...

Carlos, Linda ,Cindy
thank you so much for your kind comments!

Lisa:
wow! A big question...
I generally answer that my work is a proposition I make to the viewers, and it's their job to find the meaning they want...
That said, the birds have a meaning in art since ever. In the amerindian art as well as in Christian art, a little bird generally symbolizes soul.
Different birds like a swan, a peeacock, or an eagle have totally different meanings.
The bird I drew is a " m

Tom,
thanks so much. I'm deeply honored by your comment.

Absolutely beautiful! The portrait, and your daughter.

I'm so happy she is yours and so young. Think of all the great art to come?

Janel

Janel,
sometimes I think it's a bit too much to be a mother AND an artist at the same time ( I would need 48 hours a day ) but both are very rewarding.
Thank you for your kind comment!

Marina,

Welcome to MY life.

3 children, ages 17, 12 and 5.

I started seriously dedicating time to my art when my youngest was 2. It was terribly difficult to find the time for being an artist and a mom. But I found a way. My oldest two learned how to do things on their own or not have them done at all and I set up Barney and Spong Bob videos in my studio to fit time with my youngest in. I thought the videos would work but all of the art supplies in my studio were too tempting and he was more interested in making a mess out of paper, glue, crayons, markers and colored pencils. My studio was almost always a mess. It drove me crazy. But each day, as he gets older, gets easier and today my 5 year old paints with me. It is VERY REWARDING.

In this photo he is painting a bunny. He is 5 and he has three colors of paint... Red, Yellow and Blue. He mixed the brown color himself by adding red to the green he made for the grass. I did not help him.

I was impressed..... and very proud.

Janel

Janel,
I can relate to your experience. You can be very proud of him and of yourself!
The good thing with this challenge of beeing a parent and an artist is that it makes us grow as human being...

Your work is wonderful
 

[QUOTE=Marina Dieul]Hi,
I couldn't resist to draw her !

16" x 20", the customary 3 colors : charcoal, and cont

Soul inspiring
 

Marina,

I find each new work of yours more astonishing and delightful than the last. You somehow create a sense of effortless (yeah, right) elegance in every unique composition. Your capturing of timeless, yet supremely original motifs is endlessly inspiring, and I am humbled by them.

All my best,
Dave
(A fellow Quebecer)

A bird's view
 

What thought do you have inspired by the images of birds, for art, art business?

Victoria, thank you!

Dave, fellow quebecer, I was very touched by your comment. I never thought that one day my work could be an inspiration for other artists. I wish I could share the pleasure I have finding a new idea, developing the concept, resolving compositional problems... The more I progress, the more I find the intellectual and the technical work interresting and pleasant to do...

SB : I always was inspired by the renaissance paintings, where children are often represented in mythologic, biblic, or domestic scenes. The theme of the child with a bird was very present even later...The goldfinch is one of the most represented bird because it has a special meaning in religious context, and also it was often a tame animal.
It's a recurring theme in my work,I made several tries of a bird in children's hands before...It's the first time I represent a bird at children's side...I don't know why I'm particularly attached to this theme,but I think it's very rich and can be treated in a lot of different ways.

Your original is better than all the other traditional examples on this thread. I really like the black and white background with the pink child. Absolutely lovely!

Thank you very much Linda !
If you look carefully, the background is not totally black and white, I added some sanguine at different places to help integrate the figure. It was the first time I was drawing a child in outdoor light, and I liked it a lot, I think it's the beginning of another series...

I believe you have captured the six canons of art as spoken by Chinese Artist, Hsieh Ho in the 6th Century A.D. " Rhythtmic vitality, anatomical structure, conformity with nature, suitability of colouring, artistic composition and finish."

Marina, a true work of art, well done! I await in anticipation.

Wow, Ngaire!
What a compliment ! Thank you...


I'm pleased to announce you that " La Nonette" has been accepted in the 11th Annual Open exhibition of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.

The exhibition will be open fom October 2 through Octobre 26, at National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, New York, New York.

Oh, how exciting! Congratulations! I will try to make that show because I want to see it in person.

Marina, this is wonderful. Your work is so technically accomplished, but even more, it shows a unique and compelling vision that is truly your own. I have to imagine that in the years to come you will see the greatest success with your work, however you choose to pursue it. Congratulations!

Alex and Michele,
thank you so much for your encouragement. I really appreciate it!

Hi Marina,
Gosh, I haven't visited the forum in months (a good sign - I am insanely BUSY) and have missed out on so many lovely portraits being posted here. I had to stop and comment on this one - it is absolutely breathtaking in every way!

Hello Heidi,
sorry I hadn't seen sooner your reply. Great to hear that you have a lot of work !
Thanks for your comment.