I am in a class called The Figure in Context during my first week at Art New England. We had two homework assignments the first night: a quick twilight landscape and a still-life. We were asked to leave space in both to fit the figure. We did a direct painting of the figure on the first morning of class. In the afternoon, we painted her into the still-life using light tones and into the landscape using dark tones. Acryla gouache is a new medium for most of us.
Figure in studio, acryla gouache on panel, 8 x 10 inches, (20 x 25 cm), 07/18/11
Figure with still-life, acryla gouache on panel, 8 x 8 inches, (20 x 20 cm), 07/18/11
Figure in twilight, acryla gouache on panel, 8 x 8 inches, (20 x 20 cm), 07/18/11
On day two we went outside. One model posed in two chairs with slightly different costumes. The effect created a conversation between two figures. In the afternoon, the model posed in a wooded grotto with two more sets of clothes. Homework was a painting in our bedroom or bathroom, again leaving room to fit a figure. I started to feel some control of the new materials.
Conversation on lawn, acryla gouache on panel, 9 x 12 inches (23 x 30 cm), 07/19/11
Conversation in grotto, acryla gouache on panel, 12 x 9 inches (30 x 23 cm), 07/19/11
Day three. I chose to paint my bedroom in the morning light after doing sketches the previous days. I used the painting as reference rather than squeeze the figure into it. I took liberties with the model’s appearance of making her less beautiful, motivated by the narrative of the scene. The afternoon painting combined the live model with two photo sources, one a figure and the other an environment.
Hat on bed, acryla gouache on panel, 12 x 9 inches, (30 x 23 cm ), 07/20/11
Figure in bedroom, acryla gouache on panel, 12 x 9 inches, (30 x 23 cm ), 07/20/11
Conversation under tents, acryla gouache on panel, 9 x 12 inches, (23 x 30 cm), 07/20/11