Farmers market #10
6x8in oil on canvas board $125. SOLD
Bright, late afternoon sunshine and the eye catching colors
of bead strands made this a "must paint" for me
This downtown Santa Cruz market is a place where crafts and produce
mingle side by side. I found it totally captivating.
The enterprising young entrepreneur who owned this bead display
used a pair of crutches to hold the rod the beads hung from.
Each end was set in concrete in coffee cans and it leaned slightly
against the wall. A narrow board of shelving held the ready-made
necklaces. She put herself through school doing this.
Artist Note.
I did an on-spot watercolor of this. See below
Unfortunately I did not get a photo of the woman
because I was too busy painting her. And that led to lots
problems.
I tried to paint pretty well to the sketch. HA!
What you can do with watercolors you can not always
do with oils. Follow this little journey if you have the time...
I felt longer hair was necessary otherwise the bottom
of the hat is in a tangent with the base of the beads.
The yellow hat got lost against the beads without the
really dark areas shown in the above sketch, but when
I painted the dark areas in oil, I lost the glow and feeling
of the colorful beads glistening in the sun.
Something is not appealing to me. In fact the whole thing
looks pretty awful and did not capture what was in my memory.
It was late afternnon and the color of the sun was golden.
I decided to try for that sunny feel and I changed her shirt to yellow
I am beginning to think this is a wiper. I am not a figure
painter and this market series has me painting them.
I can tell it is not right.so I go looking for a model.
Be nice if I had a hat! But the shoulders are what I need.
Meet the back of Gail. My wonderful gallery owner.
I should have asked her to tilt her head up.
(Nice haircut don't you think?!)
Are you getting the drift of how ridiculous
I can be over a tiny 6x8 painting? I know there
are others out there just as bad as me.
It goes on. I felt the light on the wall behind the beads
was too light for the type of light source so I knocked
the value down.
And the list goes on...and on.
Would you believe that even if I am not satisfied with a painting
I truly love painting and the process
of discovery which goes with it? True!
If you are still here then I thank you for reaching the
end of this longer than usual post.
I reached the end and I reached it with joy...I love your description of your process here. Not a figure painter? I disagree. I love this sunny piece. I appreciate the difficulty of painting the jewelry!
ReplyDeleteI don't get tired of your paintings or your posts, Julie! I'm glad you went with the sunny feel! I love how you painted the jewelry as well. Beautiful work!!
ReplyDeleteOMG you do my heart good Julie!! I am still smiling...I love your posts as much as your paintings. I definitely can identify with being ridiculous over a 6x8!! Fabulous painting:))
ReplyDeleteBehind every art work there is a story ... this story we can live without communicating it to anyone or telling it like you do. Read the story of your beautiful work is so enjoyable and so instructive ... full of verve that is really good for my day! THANK YOU dear Julie!
ReplyDeleteYou ARE a great figure painter, Julie. I love how this piece ended up and your process for getting there. I've taken photos of my daughter's arm & hand in a specific pose for a piece I wanted to do once! LOL I've not seen a piece yet that I haven't loved.
ReplyDeleteJulie, we are know you are a great painter, but for me, your posts are half the fun! It is so reassuring in hear of your struggles. I cannot tell you the number of times I have worked on a so called "daily painting" for a week!
ReplyDeleteYour end result is great, and I love seeing the changes that brought it to life.
Ditto.
DeleteOh and I also really loved the one in the white blouse; mostly because I loved her glossy auburn hair. I think thay all looked great including your watercolor. Your pieces are so fun and lively. I make jewelry, too; so I know the fun of all those beads. I feel like a pirate captain! Thank you for sharing your process. I am sooo glad you didn't do a wipe. Your figures are a delight!
DeleteDon't I completely get this post! The lengths to which we will go! But the painting is lovely. The hat, red band, dark hair and yellow shirt all work nicely against those necklaces. I know you love to paint; it's a puzzle that you can't just leave there. You need to sit down and finish it:)
ReplyDeleteYou are so funny just because I know you and you tell my story on your troublesome days. So the story is about a lot of things: painting issues that involve color, composition, light, etc. There is so much to remember besides what we know intuitively. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLove how you worked through these problems and how the painting turned out! Nice work:)
ReplyDeleteI love both versions of this piece. I really admire how you can paint such beautiful compositions right there on the spot. That must be so satisfying!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful as always. And the insight into the thought process is eye-opening, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love the abstract feel of the bead strands and I think that the yellow shirt was the right move, captures the feel of the rest of the painting and blend the person with the rest of the painting, making the market the star of the show. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThe sun shone in this lovely painting, but what really shone was your description!
ReplyDeleteWhat a terrific post Julie, thank you so much for sharing this information. Your color choices turned out to be perfect.
ReplyDeleteTwo things......love the riot of color. Sometimes that can work against one but now here. I just enjoy the color. And I had fun traveling through the painting. You created a couple of very important diagonals.
ReplyDeleteWe all share that ridiculousness........I am still working on my commission! It might never meet my expectations. Thank you for sharing and the reading was fun!
Would not miss the whole pst. I always learn a lot from you. Love following you thought and work process.
ReplyDeleteYes! Your persistence to solve problems throughout the process of developing a painting shines through! and so valuable that you share your thoughts. The end result is so rich and and has the sunny-ness you envisioned!
ReplyDeleteYour persistence paid off in this gorgeous piece! Absolutely love it and the problem solving behind the process.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!
ReplyDelete