Queen of Hearts
Sometimes the desire to shift and clear is what it takes to see differently and we risk destroying what is there in order to create something new. I painted this about feelings and images that I hold in my heart. This is about my Grandma who was a like soul so in essence it is about both of us. I completed this piece last December but was never fully satisfied. Today I let go and just allowed myself to change the image. I used a stencil in white to push back the orange and start to break up edges. I also stumbled white across the face and the arms to soften and lighten them. I changed the left arm and shoulder as the shape was not right. Funny how you miss the obvious when working so closely…emotionally and physically. I added sepia high flow to do this and then flowed through into the dress by repeating the parallel lines that were in the stencil. I added a clear bust and knew the sepia was not strong enough. I added pthalo fluid acrylic to strengthen some of the shapes. I used dashes over thesepia as I love the green this makes. Adding white to the pthalo I continued to define the shapes and loosely rolled the brush across the neck. I then blocked out a large amount of the hair across the top and along the left side. This has given a sense of space to the work that I really like. Still needs something but need to not make this area too busy again but link it into the background. I defined the shadow figures in the left bottom corner of the canvas. I also softened the dress of the Queen of Hearts, small figure so she would stand out clearly. So I have gone back and added some dashes to the background and I think she is done …don’t want to keep fiddling at this stage. She feels much more complete now. Funny how it is that gut feeling that guides you.
I have added the earlier progression images so you can see how she was developed through to this final version…well at least for now.
Beautiful! Love all the layers and detail! I would not have been able to change the arm placement. Amazing how you did that and how it all came together.
Thanks, sometimes you just have to go for it and see if it works.