Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Femme de feu VII - step II... Carving out the female form!

A second layer this morning brought about some more refinements as I'm still searching for better lines...


I applied a slightly thicker layer of paint this afternoon ...


... before proceeding with more drastic measures such as putting this female fighter in a cage!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Femme de feu VII - step I... Introducing a new variation within the theme!

Female fighters have become an interest for me... a direct side-effect from my working on the ultimate fighters' series last year. I started this one with a specific "deconstruction" idea in mind...


It will be interesting to see if I can make it work!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Femme de feu VI final... An acquired taste!

A few more passes and I managed to pull this one off... sort of...


At the initial stage, I realized that smaller eyes led to an older woman by at least 10 years. I decided to roll with the punch and pursue in that vein. The feline look leads me to entitle this one "Jaguar"... in praise of  older "predator" women preying on younger men! I don't mind having a few paintings in this series that provoke some uneasiness on the part of the observer. This one is a 30 X 30 canvas... and, at that size, she can eat you alive! ;-)

Update: I decided to crop this painting to emphasize the eyes and facial features...

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Femme de feu VI - step IV... Slowly finding the balance between spooky and glamorous!

This is another one that warrants a multi-layered approach, so I'm still working fairly transparently at this stage...


Part of the reason is that I didn't know right off the bat which approach I would take... so better be safe than sorry!

Note: I was attracted by extreme lighting effects and movement while photographing my model for this series, and now, I'm confronted with a dire need to "fill the blanks" at the painting stage to get the impact that I want from each work...

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Femme de feu VI - step III... Trying to carve out the glamorus!

I only had 30 minutes today for the third layer...


This was enough to refine facial features a little and to get closer to the image that I have in mind. I would like to introduce some calligraphic marks and drips to part from pure realism, and before applying final color layers.

Note: I went to the cinema today to see "Haywire" featuring former mixed martial arts champion Gina Carano. Needless to say... sooner or later I'll be painting female fighters!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Femme de feu VI - step II... Some more finetuning!

Before doing anything drastic, I pushed it a little further to obtain more drama...


More pulpous lips and thicker eye lashes (and a nose job!) should ultimately give me what I want.

Before going too far with thicker paint, I went ahead and followed my plan to incorporate some design elements in the form of a primitive tattoo...

 Hoping to create a tension between the glamorous and the primitive! This is something I want to exploit in the future...

Note: The spooky look is unanticipated... something I have to leverage!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Femme de feu VI - step I... Setting the stage with an idea in mind!

I roughly approximated facial features for this one, leaving some room for some finetuning later on...

I have some ideas in mind to make this one different from the lot... but as usual, the end image will probably part from my initial vision...

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Femme de feu V final...I bit my own lip while finishing this one!

A couple of successive layers got me a little closer to where I wanted to be on the first place...


I decided to let go of any flamboyant special effects with this one, concentrating instead on the "lip bite"... which was more than I could handle!

My objective these days is to refine my raw canvas technique and emphasize color nuances. Deconstruction using pouring techniques is also on my agenda.

Note: I cropped this one down to a 20 X 24 canvas to accentuate my key focal point...

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Femme de feu V - step II... A layer at a time!

I proceeded with a second layer this morning trying to get closer to the playfulness I want to convey with this composition...


Alternating between fluid and thick layers seems to be my modus operandi these days...

Monday, January 16, 2012

Femme de feu V - step I... What's with a lip bite... anyway?

Well, can somebody find the question to that answer? ;-)

Not knowing exactly where to go next in terms of subject matter for my new "Femmes de feu" series, I finally opted for the portrayal of a lip bite...


I did some doodling and dripping to start some slight deconstruction... I'm still timid in that department... but will eventually get bolder! This is a 24 X 24 canvas.

Note: I've incorporated a number of December 2011 paintings in my "Femmes de feu" series, realizing that I had already unconsciously started the series!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Femme de feu IV final... Toggling between the shovel and the paint brush!

Today, I finished this one in a hurry literally toggling back and forth between shoveling the driveway and painting (we experienced a snow storm over the last two days)...


I decided to use more color variations with this one while making an attempt to retain as much bare canvas as possible. From now on, I want to raise color intensity one iota and introduce more variations in my color schemes...

Note: this one will need to be rephotographed in the daytime to avoid reflections... also the hair needs to be revisited!

Update (shot in the day light): I rearranged hair patterns a little and made a few adjustments here and there. The result is a little rougher on the edges than what I'm used to...


Note to self: "I think I want more color nuances on raw canvas but without compromising too much on my usual staining style. Clashing abstraction with pure realism remains a key goal. In that respect, this painting shows more uniformity, and as such, parts from this goal."

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Femme de feu IV - step I... A change of tactic!

After opening the series with a few red faces, I want to part from this approach while retaining some fire in my rendition...


I'm not sure what I'm gonna do ultimately... but I'll most certainly be using red in some fashion. I still want to deconstruct with some "out of control" pours and marks... to get out of pure realism...


Thick dripping honey-like paste is next...

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Femme de feu III final ... Still looking for a balance between marks, drips and blobs!

I'm still having a wrestling match with my new approach incorporating "designer" drips and marks...


The idea is to introduce these destructive elements while retaining convincing realism and balance. In a way, I want to get closer to the art from the street and the freedom that that implies. To be successful, every move needs to be bold and decisive... freshness is of the essence with raw canvas. Things are likely to get worst before they get better!

Update: I pushed it a little further to see if a better balance could be achieved, the idea being to emphasize the head as focal point...


Some more key learnings emanated from that exercise...

Friday, January 6, 2012

Femme de feu III - step I... Beating the iron while it's hot!

Today, I spent some time buying art supplies for the new year. Upon my return, capitalizing on the lessons learned from my last painting, I initiated another one of those unusual female faces...


In the end, I would like to lean on the side of drama rather than cuteness.... and remain lean an mean in the "special effects" department!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Femme de feu II final... a fertile ground for experimentation!

As a result of using unfamiliar methods, I overworked this painting, which is not necessarily a bad thing since I ended up discovering the best approach for any future works making use of pouring techniques...


Raw canvas is not very forgiving, somewhat like watercolor paper. Works with the least number of color passes make the mark!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Femme de feu II - step II... Pouring like crazy!

For step II, I laid the painting directly on the floor and started to pour a number of color mixes "à la Pollock" using pouring gel as medium...


I then moved colors a little trying not to destroy all the patterns that resulted from the pour. I used thick highlights with self-leveling gel for the hair and part of the face to bring the figure on the forefront. All in all, a rather awkward an unnerving exercise for me since it's the first time that I use this technique... still, there is the promise of greater freedom!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Femme de feu II - step I... Two is a trend!

To start the New Year, I initiated another painting for the "Femmes de feu" series...


I'd like to introduce some blues and greens to counter my natural attraction for monochromatic color schemes.