How I Created One Face Painting

This video short consolidates several process photos of the last piece posted on this blog. At the point before the trees were added, I felt stuck. Some of the questions that were arising were:

Is the face over-painted?
If so, does that mean the piece is complete?
Why does the overall piece feel so bare?
How do I keep the central image 'popping' if background work is added (to prevent eye distraction)?
What kind of background would complete it?

I had one idea, not fully formed, of adding in the background--shadowy trees in the style of Eyvind Earle. So, I had to go back and research his work, because I knew I wanted the dark trees and to add depth (e.g. with trees in foreground and in a distance). It was a week or two before I started the background...still unsure if that was what would really complement the image. Well it seems to work.

In the Earle paintings I reviewed, it was clear that his tree work evolved over the years to an incredible level. I see mine as beginner trees that could also evolve in drama and detail, if I work on them more.

Phases of Painting One Face from Cay Denise on Vimeo.

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Cay Denise

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