It's been a while since I painted a portrait. This is from a snapshot I took of artist Chris Spencer of Locke, CA. On this day, Spence was 'holding forth', as he often does, in front of Al the Wops. Spence is not only a gifted artist who has made Locke his home for more than 30 years, but he is also one of those 'characters' that you run across now and then and who stay with you forever after. I've had a lot of fun painting with Chris in Locke and the Delta and I've always enjoyed his outrageous (and insightful) take on life.
I'd prefer to paint from life, but sometimes - often - that isn't possible. I liked the photo and so I decided to try it. It's a fairly large portrait - 16" x 20". The compostion was difficult because of the hand, which I considered essential to the portrait. It forced the head to the left of center, just the opposite of what I would normally want with the head also facing to the left. As a result, the painting may be crowded on the left side. I'm not quite sure. I've considered cropping closer (into a square) to see if that helps and I've tried it on Photoshop, but for now, I'll just let it sit for a week and then decide if it needs to be fixed is some way, or if it's ok as is.
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| Spence oil on canvas 16" x 20" |
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| Spence in Black and White |
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| Spence Oil sketch on canvas |
My Art Site: Bruce Hancock Fine Art
I especially admire the color and free rendering - very nice! At first glance the hand somehow looks awkward but I don't understand why it seems so and the longer I look the less awkward it appears. I wonder if it's because it takes the eye a while to figure the placement or that there's not enough visual information (i.e. not enough of the arm) to immediately connect it. I have no idea what I'm talking about.
ReplyDeleteHi Kansas! That's a great comment....and you sure do know what you're talking about. Now that you've pointed it out, I can't take my eyes off of it. It looks like a disembodied arm sticking up out of the Lake. All that's missing to make it complete is a sword!
DeleteI did a black and white just to see. I think I have the value right for the arm...and it doesn't seem to dominate so much in B&W. Maybe if I toned down the neon orange flesh tones?
This will drive me nuts now!
Or maybe if I bring the shirt sleeve high enough to be in the picture???
DeleteI hope you show this painting to Spence. He will love it. You have captured his image nicely.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ruth...I feel like there's a little more to do on this painting, but when it's done, I'm going to make a print for Spence for being the unwitting model!
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