Girl with Toy Alligator, Oilsby *hank1

Traditional Art / Paintings / Portraits

Oils on Canvas
16 x 12"
1984

This is the painting of my "Girl with Toy Alligator" (Pencil [link]).

Technique: When I read that Titian said, "Svelature, trenta o quaranta!" (glazes, thirty or forty!) I had to try it. I did a light underpainting in black, red, and white. Then I started building up glazes. About mid-point, I covered the entire picture (which was now starting to look finished) with a thin layer of white. Amazing! What pearly colors this produced. Then more glazing of the entire picture with the appropriate colors for skin tone, background, dress and the alligator. I kept count. When finished, this painting consisted of 27 layers. Glazing one layer, scumbling (which is really just a glaze of light over dark, as in my white layer) the next layer--back and forth. This is how the inner glow in her face was achieved.

It took months, in order to allow for each layer to dry. But was it ever worth it!

Daily Deviation

Given 2006-12-15

Given my general leaning towards more avant stuff, it is important to remind folks of what fundamentals can bring you. Girl with Toy Alligator, Oils by *hank1 is more traditional in tone, but lacks no clarity in its composition, and has the kind of elegance and classicism I associate with people who have studied artists like John Singer Sargent and the Dutch Masters. ( Suggested by `mynti and Featured by `zeruch )