Behind women's eyes III - step III... Going the route of color separation, albeit timidly!

I guess my quest for the ultimate technique is not over yet! With this second color pass, it's becoming apparent that I'm trying to go deeper into an area that I've been shying away from...

... i.e., separating colors by not blending them after they've been applied with a sweeping (or mopping) motion from either the brush or the palette knife. Eventually, I would like to go for improbable color combinations. For now, I'm trying to find my way with this new approach (for me), which evolved from the previous paintings... pretty much by accident... or just naturally! In a way, wanting to leave distinct marks on a black background led to wanting to do the same when using colors.

Some adjustments led to this "close to final" version:

Note to self: "Now that I think of it, I should stick to what comes naturally for me when applying paint and go for results as opposed to technique! I think this is the path to my personal style..."

Sub-note to self: "I should stop painting when I start thinking!"

Behind women's eyes III - step II... Letting the painting in progress speak to me!

I had a different color scheme in mind...

... but I decided to follow color patterns dictated by a different paint behaviour (it's over 30 degrees outside with very high humidity). I intend to do some limited modeling with the next color pass in an attempt to keep intact the rough look of this first pass...

These days, I seem to want to take on one of my demons... the one that wants me to work my paintings to death until there is no life in them!

This is another 36 X 36 canvas...

Note to self: "Over the last 3 years, I've developed a number of useful techniques with acrylics that fit my personality (impatient, restless). I think the time has come to forget about them... and let intuition take over! At this stage, at least for a while, there's no need to go from one technique to the other... in search of the holy grail!"

Behind women's eyes III step I - Another attempt at a visceral portrait!

I'm curious if I can replicate the same "loose style" technique as the previous painting...

... I have spent a little more time with the drawing to ensure a minimum of corrections... and avoid applying too many layers of paint!

Behind women's eyes II final... One of those perfect days!

We had the grand kids around for a day. Imbued with their spirit, I finished off my last painting project within 15 minutes...

Needless to say, I'm counting my blessings!

Behind women's eyes II - step III... A second color pass leaving me "gaga"!

Not having a lot of time at my disposal today (I spend most of my Fridays trying to impress the "muse" by prepping the house and the garden for the weekends), I proceeded with a quick layer of semi transparent colors...

I don't know what to make of it... but I know there's no coming back!

Note: I wanted to part from the model with my initial drawing... but the model's character prevailed in the end... since it was closer to what I wanted to convey deep down!

A bonus today: the hibiscus looks like a "pompous ass"...


Note to self: "I think I'm evolving towards strategic darks, strategic transparency, strategic opacity, strategic textures, strategic bare canvas, strategic brush strokes and strategic palette knife strokes. In a nutshell, the coexistence of all paint application strategies right from the outset, implemented intuitively and in total freedom, none of them dominant!"

Behind women's eyes II - step II... The rebel is showing up... for the first time?

I let go with this first color pass, and what had to come out came out...

The face went from angelical to totally raw... but it does express what I wanted to express about this kind of stare! I used both the palette knife and the brush and tried to accomplish as much as I could with this first pass doing everything at once. This time around, I tried to leave decisive marks with whatever method I was using to compound the various textural effects. I think this result expresses the unadulterated truth about me. The second pass should be brief and final... and introduce a minimum of lies!

This is another 36 X 36 canvas.

Note to self: "On second thought, the previous painting was certainly decorative but not really visceral. I want to pour my guts for a change in the realization of my future works!"

Subnote to self:"Is this a new trend?"

Behind women's eyes II step I... Trying to short circuit "light over dark"!

My previous method for "light over dark" seeming sub-optimal...

... so I'm reverting back to drawing as first step. For the underpainting, I intend to apply dark areas only where needed... and will attempt to obtain the same potent textural effects as the previous painting... but with potentially less paint and a more streamline process!

Note: I've finally settled for "behind women's eyes" as a name for this new series...