After doing the underdrawing in ink for this painting (shown in an earlier post), I began to lay down several layers of color, and at the same time refine the drawing of the forms. The biggest change I made in the drawing was to make the curve of the rusted pipe more gradual, instead of close to 90 degrees. I felt that it made the form graceful, and the small negative space between the two pipes, white and red, became an elegant symmetrical eye. As I've worked on this painting, I realize that one of the things I like most about the image is the contrast of the volume of the cylindrical pipes against the flatter––though not completely flat––circular background and the flat black square on the upper right.
In the image below, you can see that I then worked on the black cylinders with their triangular extensions and the light space behind them. For that space, I scumbled lighter tones over the slightly darker ones you see above, leaving some darker areas to give some life to what could look very flat. I left the brushmarks showing on the black cylinders, again to make them lively. In this photo you can see an interesting juxtaposition between the sketched in volume of the rust-red pipe and the finished black ones; there's always a balancing act for me in the realism/painterly continuum.
(If you click on the images, you'll see them larger, with more accurate color.)
there's something about this composition that is unusually satisfying. I don't know yet what it is.
ReplyDeletesensual, erotic comes to mind
ReplyDeleteThank you, both, for the nice comments. Because of the subdued color, I hadn't expected such a warm response. There's a geometry here––the 6 inch square on upper right, the rusty pipes left edge at 3 inches––that might lead to a sense of balance, with the pipes adding a body metaphor.
ReplyDeleteThis painting made me think of the Vermeers you were explaining. Especially the dark square in the upper right and the "wall" behind it. Like the "Girl Interrupted In Her Music" the pipes intertwined seem like they are like people in an embrace.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Deborah. I try to pay attention to every inch of the painting. As for the "embrace", I love how we invest ordinary inanimate things with human life.
ReplyDelete