Masquerade series... A moment of reflection on the floor!

After 5 paintings in this new series and a short one-week haitus from painting, it's time to assess this new direction of mine...

After a rather prudent first painting (middle one, upper row), I seem to be heading in the direction of more abstraction and less facial exposure in terms of composition. Applying fully saturated colors over greyed underpaintings appeals to me. I'd like to pursue in that vein, at least for a while. Let's hope I won't lose face!

Mask V - The resuscitation from the dead!

After a little more than a week of rest from painting, I decided to give a last chance to my previous "failed" painting...

The end result is not the apotheosis of my short art career, but nonetheless, this painting was the ground for some interesting experiments on textural effects. I need to get more serious about this "industrial strength" dripping technique!


Note to self: "I see an opportunity in smothering a face with abstraction... in the end though, it's a matter of balance".

A break from painting!

Experiencing the calm of the wilderness in Lachute Québec...

... a way of recharging the batteries!

Mask V - step II... A post-mortem spasm of the conventional!!

I used the second pass to try a new technique for the "nylon stocking" texture of the mask...

The third pass will be decisive since I want to part from this boring "illustration" look.

Update: I gave it my best shot but remained unsatisfied with the results. The lighting and the split design made it difficult to produce interesting color patterns while maintaining unity. Furthermore, my use of orange made me realize that this color and yellow have the same value when they are adjacent to each other. The "black and white" version of the painting did not register, and it should have, a key success factor in my view...Well, there's always the next painting to do better!

Note to self: "I'm due for a vacation from painting! May be one to two weeks would be beneficial."

Mask V - step I... Grinding another one!

Inspired by different reference photos, I brushed this first pass in an attempt to transpose my vision on canvas, if not accurately, at least partially...

I'd like to replicate what I've done with the previous one (dripping saturated colors)... and verify if I can push my luck once again!

Mask IV - step III... Shooting first and asking questions after!

Seeing where I was heading to with the previous painting stage, I decided to throw a monkey wrench into the picture...

The idea behind this approach is to start with a dull grey/black monochromatic rendition and jazz it up with pure dripping colors. At this stage, I had  to find a way to make this work!

The last pass led to this version...

I've been wanting for a while to use this avenue... today was the day to give it a shot... and overcome my demons!

Mask IV - step II... Sort of a painting vacation!

I used the second pass to get closer to the face I'm after...

...trying to impart a sense of movement with the hair. I'm doing this one in the spirit of freedom. So far so good!

Mask IV - step I... Reintroducing the vamp!

For this fourth one of the series, I decided to go for black-eye make-up for a change...

... amalgamating features that I like from different faces. As usual, I want to jam pack as many techniques as possible to add character to this work.

Mask III final... Revisiting metallic paint!

With this last pass, my intent was not to go all out on realism...

... but to test the grounds with most of my techniques used in unison. Finding the proper balance in all of this is a primary objective of mine. I will call this one" friendly alien"...

Note to self: "A new development for me seems to be the mixing and matching of elements that wouldn't normally fit together. This is a whole new area of potential for me!"

Mask III - step II...Tightening up the design!

This second pass was used to test both the design and the color scheme, especially the metallic colors for the helmet...

This should set the stage fairly well for the final pass. Going for maximum contrast is a key objective. I seem to have developed the wet look with the preceding work. This is something I'd like to incorporate here as well.