Thought
I’d talk shop a bit since I don’t really go into my process much. I typically use several reference photos along
with some lyrics or poetry when building a piece. I’d quickly sketch out an idea, get bored of
sketching, and jump into the real deal. Just
recently I’ve been trying out some new techniques for concepts and
“sketching”.
I’m
not very good at using Photoshop or similar programs, but I can make my way
around…clumsily. Man, I’ve been really
digging some of the perks a computer can offer…speed, special effects, and...the
best-ever “undo” option...ahhh! Not
sure why I didn’t think of it before, but being able to quickly put a detailed composition
together and change it up if it’s going south without losing hours and hours of
work is a pretty big perk.
Here’s
a pic of a concept for a new painting…
So, I’m
really into duality within people or different facets of people’s personalities
and have been trying to figure out how to effectively illustrate that kind of idea
in my art. I went through all sorts of ideas from layering a piece, using
glass, plexi, resin, archival plastic sheets…but I wasn’t too thrilled about
using any of those ideas at the moment. I just wanted to be able to make more
subtle images to put on top of a main figure.
This new process allows me to add the transparency I’m after…and hopefully I
can duplicate the effect in my finished piece and be happy with the outcome.
In
the painting from 2012 below, I added the second image, and to push her back a bit by adding
some static or noise (whatever you want to call it)…I laid my pastel sideways
and went for it right over her face.
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| 15 - pastels on wood, 24" x 24" (available) |
While
there’s definitely excitement in taking risks when you’re in the moment, it’s also cool (when
you’re 20 hours in) to be able to know you can pretty much execute the rest of
the piece as you had imagined it in your head.
~ eye should make a little more time to sketch random things for practice if I'm going to continue using this process to start my pieces.
Labels: art by Tammy West, art process, new artwork, pastel painting
