Woman

Debra Jones · 10-23-2002, 05:24 PM

OK, Chris!

You nabbed me, the open studio queen.This is from the Scottsdale Artist's School on Monday. She is Pat, a mature and wonderful local. This is on a warped piece of canvas board 20" x 18" that I wanted to loosen up, since I have not been doing oils much.

Although it is not as good a likeness as I want, I am pleased with the energy and the fact that in three hours I managed to cover the canvas! Thanks for the idea of open studio. I feel very comfortable here.

Chris Saper · 10-23-2002, 06:58 PM

Yes, indeed!

Lovely job, Debra. This portrait has so much freshness and movement to it. I also often find that the three hours sail by and I fail to get around to covering the surface, so I appreciate this very much, particularly since 20" x 18" is a lot of surface area.

William Whitaker · 10-24-2002, 01:56 AM

Debra,

That is one fine painting!

Bill

Lon Haverly · 10-24-2002, 02:07 AM

It's awesome! And is it any less a fine painting for the short time it took? No way! It is the short time that defines your fresh style and flare. Art is as much in the limitations as the excesses.

Mari DeRuntz · 10-24-2002, 10:00 AM

Debra - beautiful work. Congratulations on your recent award; be assured it's just the first!

And to the Forum moderators, I'm very grateful for this new area and look forward to posting here after next weeks' John de la Vega workshop.

Michael Georges · 10-24-2002, 10:03 AM

Debra: Wonderful painting!

This is exactly what we had envisioned for this topic. I hope you and others will contintue to post and participate.

Debra Jones · 10-24-2002, 08:39 PM

Open studio is such a race for me, but it is always like an athlete challenging myself on the scale of others. This piece was one I went to bed tired of, and woke up to find I had done good.

She is being unwarped in a strong frame at my day job right now. When she flattens I may try to give her a better home and see what develops.

Thank you all for you warm support.

Enzie Shahmiri · 10-24-2002, 09:58 PM

Debra, I admire your skill and ability to paint in this spontaneous manner. I have not learned to resist the urge to fix everything and make it look perfect and thus have become a prisioner to the neverending quest of being a perfectionist.

Have you always painted like this or do you start fixing things once you are in your studio?

Debra Jones · 10-24-2002, 10:08 PM

If you had seen it an hour before it was done, you would not ask the question!

I struggled all the way. One of the problems with a live model in a group, not for my own personal reference, is that they are human. She had an elegant profile of the eyelash, nose and chin, the reflected light on the top of her shoulder was nearly blue! Lots of nifty stuff, but when she came back every 20 minutes it was different. By the fourth pose the wonderful red of her shirt never showed again.

One cannot complain; it is only $6 a session! Bargain for the work. I got lots of nice texture because there are so many layers of paint!

A secret for the alla prima effect for me, is that if I don't sketch or pencil in my guidelines, I use no oil, just turps to thin. That way it does not stay wet, but will eventually dry a bit, at least enough to tooth and take more paint.

As far as AFTER the model leaves. I MAY fiddle a bit on the breaks between, but mostly on the background or clothes, but try like mad not to mess with the face. After all, I don't have a reference so what am I trying to improve upon?

Thanks for asking. Sometimes spontaneous is actually more like panic.

Enzie Shahmiri · 10-24-2002, 10:23 PM

I feel better now, but I still could not pull this off. I look forward to seeing more.