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."

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...

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...

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!

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!

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!

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.