Saturday, August 31, 2013

Life is a Cabaret


 
"Life is a Cabaret"
13" x 18" Watercolor
 
After my David Lobenberg workshop, I was fired up on portraits and had a fun picture of my granddaughter on her prom night. The theme was a gambling casino, but all I could think of was Liza Minelli in Cabaret. I dutifully did my small study in Payne's Grey. It was even less a good likeness than my final product, but it gave me a feel for values, the whole point of the study.


 
My black and white study
 
Here you can see  that Kelly is much more beautiful and wholesomely youthful than I painted her. However, I take comfort in David's comment that he doesn't worry about an exact likeness; he is going for a good painting. I will, no doubt, make a few more adjustments.


 
The model
 
I did the background last and I puzzled over it for quite some time. Suddenly, this one popped into my head as representational of cabaret and celebrations, and I like it. I used tape to mask off places where I would paint in the confetti. Once I had the dark values in the background, I had to rework the shadows and the hat to get appropriate values.
 
I've been wanting to paint a piece for our annual show coming right up. I am off soon on a major trip, so had little time. I have decided to enter this piece.
 


7 comments:

Autumn Leaves said...

Your granddaughter is a beauty! Love the painting and the bowler hat!

hmuxo said...

Your granddaughter is so beautiful and the perfect model!!! You did a wonderful job on the paintings, Mary!

Anonymous said...

You nailed this one Mary! It is a fun portrait. Your background fits the subject to a tee. Good luck in the show!

Christiane Kingsley said...

Your granddaughter is indeed very beautiful and so is your painting. I really love what you decided to do with the background. Best of luck with the show and enjoy your upcoming trip.

Barbra Joan said...

Oh YES! Mary this is a fantastic painting. Perfect background . Happy , Happy !!!!! Wishing you good luck and with your trip too. !
BJ

hw (hallie) farber said...

This is a a wonderful painting--great model. I've always found it hard to paint people I know. Happy Trip!

Barb Sailor said...

A very beautiful your woman! I like the black and white watercolor sketch better than the color final work.