After finishing a large complex painting like Blackjack Players, I usually go to a smaller, simpler composition, and this time went to a place I've been thinking about for a while, party hats:
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Party Hat
6 1/2" x 5" oil on linen 2012 Private Collection, New York |
I'm now about to start a slightly larger painting (7" x 8") on the same theme; a composition involving four people in various odd hats. The initial sketch, below on the left, was made two years ago and has been floating around my drawing table ever since. I can't remember what inspired the idea -- was probably dreamt up while doodling -- but have always liked it. The drawing on the right is the final drawing, finished this afternoon.
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left: initial sketch, ca. 4" x 4 1/2" ink on paper, 6 July 2010
right: final drawing, 7" x 8" pencil on graph paper, 23 - 24 May 2012
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I never wear a hat, but they can be very excellent in a painting: creating interesting abstract elements in a composition and allowing bright notes of color to enliven figures, singly or in lines and crowds.
Rogier van der Weyden utilized head wear to perfection in his masterpiece, Portrait of a Lady at the National Gallery of Art; the painting is brilliant in its fundamental abstract qualities. His work has been a major influence on me, and taught me early on that all great paintings, representational or not, are always founded on a strong abstract base.
Rogier van der Weyden utilized head wear to perfection in his masterpiece, Portrait of a Lady at the National Gallery of Art; the painting is brilliant in its fundamental abstract qualities. His work has been a major influence on me, and taught me early on that all great paintings, representational or not, are always founded on a strong abstract base.
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| Portrait of a Lady ca. 13" x 10" oil on panel 1460 Rogier van der Weyden National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. |
