stlukesguild
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I made a number of works building upon the theme of Snow White. I might as well post the painting I did immediately after Fallen Snow: New Fallen Snow. I did not begin with the Snow White theme in mind... rather I started with the idea of a pair of sisters... perhaps twins... seen in contrast: one frontal and one from behind:
This is one of the works that I took photos of at different stages. At this point I've erased the second figure several times. The figure on the right was seen in a pose inspired by a sculptural/architectural caryatid... a weight-bearing column in the form of a figure that dates back to classical Greece.
But I was looking at more recent variations in which the figures were portrayed holding the weight above them in their arms:
I think that I found the two figures standing parallel as far too static... thus I moved toward a contrast of one figure standing and one sitting:
I consciously chose to use a more Rubenesque or curvy figure.
By this stage (above) I've elected to employ the theme of Snow White again. I know I was looking at the American painter George Tooker a good deal at this time... especially his colors and use of simplified forms:
The hair on the seated figure (Snow) was simply too much in the stage above and distracting... drawing the eye away from the faces. I simplified it down to a single curl. For the standing figure I built upon the elegant hair-style from a drawing by the Rococo painter, François Boucher:
Unfortunately, the hair is too dark in all of the photos I have of New Fallen Snow so that none of the details can be made out clearly. But what do you expect when you take a painting that is 7 feet tall and reduce it down to 5 or 6 inches in height on a computer screen? There have been many times when I hadn't been in the studio for a while and I started to dislike my paintings based on the digital reproductions... but then I would get back into the studio and find myself thinking: "You know, these aren't half bad. In fact they look a lot better in real life."
That may be an advantage of having a studio at home. In spite of the diminutive scale, I pass by a couple of these paintings every day.
continued...
This is one of the works that I took photos of at different stages. At this point I've erased the second figure several times. The figure on the right was seen in a pose inspired by a sculptural/architectural caryatid... a weight-bearing column in the form of a figure that dates back to classical Greece.
But I was looking at more recent variations in which the figures were portrayed holding the weight above them in their arms:
I think that I found the two figures standing parallel as far too static... thus I moved toward a contrast of one figure standing and one sitting:
I consciously chose to use a more Rubenesque or curvy figure.
By this stage (above) I've elected to employ the theme of Snow White again. I know I was looking at the American painter George Tooker a good deal at this time... especially his colors and use of simplified forms:
The hair on the seated figure (Snow) was simply too much in the stage above and distracting... drawing the eye away from the faces. I simplified it down to a single curl. For the standing figure I built upon the elegant hair-style from a drawing by the Rococo painter, François Boucher:
Unfortunately, the hair is too dark in all of the photos I have of New Fallen Snow so that none of the details can be made out clearly. But what do you expect when you take a painting that is 7 feet tall and reduce it down to 5 or 6 inches in height on a computer screen? There have been many times when I hadn't been in the studio for a while and I started to dislike my paintings based on the digital reproductions... but then I would get back into the studio and find myself thinking: "You know, these aren't half bad. In fact they look a lot better in real life."
That may be an advantage of having a studio at home. In spite of the diminutive scale, I pass by a couple of these paintings every day.continued...
I could have made the necessary changes... but I felt that would be too obvious. As it was, I felt the shears conveyed a degree of danger in contrast to the soft naked bodies and open around the single long curl of hair.
