Leaning Figure

[Alexandra Tyng]

Mary,

I just want to remind you that no critiques are allowed in the Unveilings section. I know you admire Thomasin's work and meant your comment in an entirely constructive way (and I'm sure she realizes that, too), but if someone has posted a work in "Unveilings" the best way to offer a suggestions is to send the artist a private message.

[Thomasin Dewhurst]

Mary, thank-you for your very encouraging comments. I think the reason the painting looks sculpted is because the values are so close. I was once painting an arm when I was a student (I have attached the picture below plus a detail of "Leaning Figure"), and I mixed some flesh-coloured paint to get the colour, temperature and tone of the skin, and then added the minutest amount of cerulean blue for the inner arm, and the minutest amount of white for the most forward part of the arm and it created a really strong sensation of tactile three-dimensionalism. Also, I tend to rub in the slightly absorptive light areas (those that are not quite in the shade but not fully in the light, and scumble on the the highlights (and scumble on the highlights when the paint underneath is dryer so the white sits on top and doesn't get absorbed and lose brightness and texture).

[Thomasin Dewhurst]

Alex, thank-you again for your interesting comments. In this picture, and in others I have done, I find the eyes incongruous with rest of the figure, but the shape of the bone and the shadows around the eye sockets very compatible, so it is always a struggle to try and get something that works (and not end up with something odd or ghoulish) and that does suggest the eyes without illustrating them. What I feel I end up with is the expression and the form without describing the eyes themselves. It's not what I want completely - but I as yet don't know what that is.