The Painting I Interpreted

by Pascal Gentil

Interpreted sounds so much better than copied!

So, here's the image I worked from--see how sneaky I am, not placing them side-by-side in the same post!

This Marlena has a little more chin than I wanted, and although her hair looks a bit matted, that actually fits into the story. Todd voted for prettier hair, so I conceded on that!

Marlena: Complete

...and here's Marlena finished, in all her innocence and exotic beauty. To accompany her is a  a small excerpt from UNCHARTED, when Samuel the shipwright gets his first glimpse of Marlena:

I doubt I would have noticed her at all, except she planted herself right in that place where the sun shot through that hole in the roof, which wouldn’t get fixed for a month. No one had seen the sun for two weeks, but in that moment, it split the clouds, thrust a shard through that narrow fissure, and reflected off every hovering dust particle surrounding her. Filaments of wild curls circled her head like a halo. Even her skirt radiated. I hate to sound like a spiritualist, or worse yet, a romantic, but at first glance, she seemed like an apparition. If not for her quirky suitcase, the size of a tackle box, I might have dropped to my knees.

Tomorrow, I'll post Pascal Gentil's  image that I worked from...

Marlena: Almost Done!

I know this isn't vastly different from the last post, but it is progress! One of the features that I love about this painting is the way that little curl juts out and obscures her eye, just a bit. In the story, Marlena's hair is always out of control.

Starting to Look Like Marlena

At this point, I started to feel more hopeful about the outcome, but her hair still needs a lot of work, and the complexion isn't quite right.

A Little Better...But Not Much

Here's the next phase. I know--it doesn't look  a whole lot better, does it. Not to worry, just keep adding layers and try not to overwork it (yeah, telling myself to 'not overwork' it is kinda pointless.)


She's looking very ethnic at this point, and she is half Venezuelan, but she's fairer skinned than she appears here. All fixable.

Marlena: Not Much Improvement, Yet!

I know, she doesn't look too good yet! At this point, I was wondering if I'd be able to pull it off, but that's pretty typical at this stage. As tempting as was to abandon the project,  I made myself add another layer...and hoped for the best... (but I still wasn't confident enough about her outcome to post it!) Perhaps it was the skin-tone that threw me--not enough pink.

No, I Haven't Forgotten How to Paint!

I know, we all thought I'd given up on painting! I haven't--I've just been preoccupied with editing my novel (yay, UNCHARTED is going to be published in October 2012). Anyway, I've been looking at a painting* I found online of a young woman who looks exactly the way I imagine Marlena from the story. As you all know, I need an image to work from and so I thought I'd try my hand at a watercolor interpretation of Pascal Gentil's painting* that portrays my Marlena so well. Normally, I post my progress as I go, but this time I was feeling rather insecure about pulling it off, so I finished it first. I'm still going to post it incrementally, but if you can't stand waiting a few days, you can get a sneak preview over at my writing blog. Next week, I'll post Gentil's oil painting.*
For now, here's the  wash. (I would have included the sketch as usual, but it turned out too light.)


* Edited to say that I just found Pascal Gentil's Photography Website only to discover his "painting" is in fact a digitally enhanced photograph, which takes a great deal of talent and in no way diminishes my esteem of his work. Oh my, how I'd love to paint many of his subjects! And in a way, it makes me feel all the better about my work.

Okay, This Time I Really Mean It...

I know this is obsessive, but I figured out the problem. Her face just seemed a little wide, flat and pale. Her ear placement was a little off, she needed more shading on the underside of her face, her hairline didn’t come over far enough, and she begged more highlighting on her upper cheek. I may be the only one who can see any change, but I feel much better about it now.

Oh, and I shaded the grass a little more at her side…

Cool Grass: Done

I’m not sure how this looks on your monitor, but if it’s anything like mine, the colors in the original aren’t quite as saturated, but still, it’s a fair representation.

No, It’s Not Done, Step 7:

Just so no one thinks I abandoned this project (you know, on account of the nose, [which is all better]) I thought I’d better post some progress. Actually, I’ve been sick, so that’s why this project is taking so long.

It’s at this point that I wish I had chosen something easier to paint, but now that I have the grass filled in (no, it’s not done yet, either), it doesn’t feel so overwhelming.

I Botched!

Yes, it’s true, the nose has been scrubbed out. That’s because it didn’t look quite right to me, and by 'not quite right' I mean it looked 'short'—too much upper lip. So I measured it and I was a full 2mm off! Yikes—on a small painting (8"x 11"), that’s a lot.

Here’s where watercoloring gets tricky, and is unlike painting with oil or acrylic. You can’t just wipe out a mistake and start over (my husband will attest to this: he just finished a portrait of me [my head, on a John Singer Sargent] and I ended up looking like an orange on a toothpick! Okay, that’s an exaggeration—it wasn’t off by much, but we kept looking at it and felt as if something was ‘off.’ The solution? ‘Wipe’ it out and try again [which he did, and I’m all better, now])

Not so easy with watercolor. I can scrub or scrape depending on how much paint is down, and whether or not the color is ‘permanent.’ In this case, I scrubbed with a wet brush—it removes not only paint, but paper also, which is dicey. Then, I let it dry thoroughly, and as it’s doing so, scan it and post it for the world to see. Hopefully, I’ll be able to redeem myself; if not—well, that’s just the way it goes…and you get to watch…

...Stay tuned for the ‘nose rescue’ and the photo from which I’m working…

Obeying The Urge

When I woke up this morning, I had no intention of starting another painting today, but as I stripped sheets, I got an urge to look for a particular photo that I thought I might like to work on. I never got as far as locating that picture because I came across a file containing one of my favorite subjects. Maybe it’s because I can feel spring coming or something simply struck me at the right moment, but I thought I’d better follow through before the urge abandons me.

So, here are the beginnings of another portrait. No paint yet, but I will tell you there’s a lot of green grass and masses of strawberry blond hair. I had forgotten what an amazing model she is…

Admittedly, the pose is a little unconventional for a portrait, but I guess that’s what I like about it. I also like the idea of lying in cool grass, daydreaming after reading a good book…

A Finished Self-portrait

I scanned this one in sections, then joined them with success, so the colors are a fairly close representation of the original. (Wish I had a bigger scanner—and printer.)

I have an idea of what I want to paint next, and it’s a rather intense piece. Unfortunately, I’ve fallen behind on a few things, one of which is my querying, (not to mention all the other blogs I’ve been neglecting). So, I’ll take a brief reprieve, clean my house, catch up on some mundane stuff, do some reading, and get back at it…
…hmmm…a nautical scene, perhaps?

The Snapshot

I worked on the face a little more (okay, overworked, as usual), but I think it has a little better depth. It probably doesn’t look like much progress, so to make your visit worth your while, I’m also posting the photo I’m working from.

(Okay, I admit it—it’s a self-portrait, at my husband’s request.)

My camera and graphics program render the hues a bit more saturated and overall lighter than the actual work in progress, but they provide the general idea.

...and I'm not too crazy about the floating image. I guess I like props for a painting, but I think black works well for a photographic image. Oh well, too late now...

Put the razor down and back away from the painting...

I quit where I did today, because I started getting that feeling like I want to hack it to tiny irretrievable bits. The eyes and nose and mouth are throwing me a fit, and I don’t even want to talk about the stupid sweater and jeans. So far, the only part I like are the hands…time for a break…
...don't worry, I will finish it...

A Bit More

Now comes the really labor intensive part...along with the precarious face. Maybe I'll add some background color; think I'll go with paynes grey, instead of black. (It should diminish the butt size, visually.)

Progress

Now, I'll start adding a lot more detail.

The subject might like it if I trimmed down her derrière, but I'm not going to. I'd indulge vanity if I were being paid, but otherwise, I like to paint exactly what I see...

The Wash

Okay...that wasn't so scary...

 And I think this one should be a little easier than the last portrait because the face won’t have as drastic shading.

In case you’re wondering, the background will be all black…(and I really hate that this won't fit on my scanner; my lighting is going to be all over the place on these posts...Oh well...)

Sitting

Okay, here goes with that queasy feeling again...

I’m venturing another portrait. At 10”x 13”, this is a little larger than my usual, but I have to admit that the increased head size makes it somewhat easier to execute facial features. I considered doing just a head and shoulder view, but I do so enjoy painting body parts, especially hands, which you may have noticed are particularly prominent here.

I chose this pose for its contrasting angles and overall composition. I don't have a title for it yet, so I'll just call it Sitting (pathetic that a writer doesn't come up with a more imaginative name).

Not much to look at, I know—and it's too big for my scanner, so there is some distortion.

Well, the pressure is on—wet the paints and go…

Finis!

I can hardly believe I actually finished it! Overall, I’m pleased with the result, despite its overworkedness. Normally, I would have focused as much on the background, i.e. the window trim, but Todd told me to leave it alone already—‘the focal point is the subject, not the woodwork!’

One of the problems with allowing a watercolor to sit for over a year, before finishing it, is that the masking tape doesn’t want to let go—and, in a couple spots it didn’t. (And masking fluid has to be gouged off--not good.) Not to worry, I’ll simply matt up to the edge…

I'm being very brave, now, posting the real Susie...(this is where I start feeling very critical—can I call the discrepancies ‘artist prerogative?’)

Now, it’s time to start querying—while I do the big wait between the rejections—perhaps I’ll finish another painting...