"Figure 6"
I am playing hooky from my normal "Room of the week" post today but I will be back with it next week.A month or so ago, I painted "Figure 6", a 30 x 40 oil and charcoal on linen. It was really popular and is on consignment in a penthouse staged for sale at the Ritz in Baltimore. Ever since I have been really hooked on figural paintings.
"Figure 9"
I had fun with "Figure 9" last weekend. My sketching was much looser than normal and I let that show by adding less paint too.
"Figure 8"
I have never claimed to be a patient girl and I posted this one as finished when it was incomplete and flawed. I finally satisfied myself yesterday and posted it with confidence. I worked on "Figure 8" alongside a commissioned nude over the weekend and had an "Aha" moment when working on the commission. I discovered that I love the short, squarish strokes gave the figure the edgy quality I was looking for without looking like an outline or sacrificing curves. That said, I still love flowy brushstrokes.
Small series figural nudes on linen
My small series are built around flowy brushstrokes and those lines are necessary to portray the human figure but I am liking a balance between the two. This is a classic subject in Western art but not everyone likes it as a subject. I grew up with nudes in my house that were painted by grandmother, like the one below. We are very comfortable with them and I find them very beautiful.
Nude by Elisabeth B. Iddings (my grandmother)
Are you drawn to figural art or other subjects?
