Thursday, March 26, 2009

Progression of a sketch: Potential

New painting concept sprang to mind last night.

Sketch #1:

Dug through my sketch books around midnight for a starting point. I find that discarded concept sketches for other paintings often provide a good springboard. For example this was initially a sketch for the Tarot Ten of Wands, last year. I ended up using a completely different sketch for that final painting.

Toyed with this for a bit, made some changes to accommodate the new vision.

Still though, not quite what I wanted. Wasn't going to work in its raw form. The same reasons I discarded the sketch the first time for the tarot were cropping up. I like the emotion of it, and the tender feel of clutching the orb, but the pose doesn't feel quite natural, and the aesthetic lines of it are not yet there.



Okay, so on to Sketch #2:

After a bit of scribbling and a layer of eraser dust in bed, had a basic figure just to get the idea out of my head before dropping off to sleep. Cleaned it up some more this morning.

Still unhappy with it. It's a much more refined line. I like the legs, like the face. But the body now is much too stiff. There is not connection to the orb that she holds. It's just an object resting in her lap.





Sketch #3:

Hopefully this one can be "just right."

Grabbed tracing paper. Traced the legs of #2, curved her body around the orb more to be a protective embrace and to try to capture that feel from #1 that I liked. Tilted the page at an angle to shift the weight. I think I have it this time. Going to continue in this vein and start refining the anatomy.

8 comments:

  1. beautiful - what can i say ... i love your lines, always have.

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  2. ps: really like the new avatar :)

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  3. The third sketch does strike a chord that the other two do not. Can hardly wait to see the finished piece.

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  4. ban, it's an old one that i rediscovered. :)

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  5. Hmm... maybe its where the orb is positioned - and also her pose around the orb - but it seems to have a pregnancy / motherly feel.

    Interested to see how this one comes out!

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  6. there is something about her face in the first one though ... she seems more innocent ?

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  7. I love your art! And i prefert Sketch #2!

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  8. Definitely # 3 holds the soothing emotions of the woman tenderly hugging the orb! When I looked at all three this one touched me the most, could feel the love and emotions captured in what I think you are trying to express in this drawing. Very nice.

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