In The Wings


In The Wings detail

In The Wings
This is an 11" x 14" oil on stretched canvas. I'd taken the photo of this model months ago at the Coppini. I completely made up the background in this painting and suffered mightily over what to paint on the left of the figure. It seemed necessary to have some object to bounce the eye back into the painting. I asked visitors what should go there and one woman suggested stacked chairs. I liked the idea, but I'm afraid my mind blanked at how to paint them without a reference, so I asked another couple, who were visiting from Wales. They suggested a stepladder. I could imagine figuring that out, so I painted the little ladder. I like it! The photos are a bit off the correct color, but close enough to get the idea, I think.

6 comments:

Karel Tuinart said...

Hi Susan,
Well done, very beautiful painting. She is more beautiful on the canvas then on the photograph!
Greetings..

Amy Gethins Sullivan said...

Hi Susan, She is lovely.
I am thinking about your last post ,about goals.
This subject is on my mind all the time.
And, why haven't I ever written them down?
I have been doing pretty well with my portraits.
But, not well enough. I do have a goal of having a "waiting list" for portraits to be done by Christmas.
Wouldn't that be great? People just waiting to have a portrait done :).Work lined up.
But, after reading your post, I realize I need to have more steps towards this goal, penciled in.
What steps do I need to take to make this happen...
Thanks for the reminder, about setting goals.
It can be so very easy to get distracted.
Amy

Barbara Pask said...

I like this Susan, very creative coming up with your own background. I've been wanting to paint a ballerina too, I'll give it a try one day. Please do paint Sunday if you can, I would love to watch you paint a kitty.

Dianne Mize said...

The ladder was a clever idea and you executed it just right. There's something special about those dapples of light on her forward, cheek, chest, neck, arm, ankles and toes, and quite lovely is that subtle light on her left arm and are the reflections of her skin tones in her shadow on the floor. I like this piece.

Susan Carlin said...

Thank you KT, Amy, Barbara and Dianne! I'm so grateful when someone/s besides me likes my non-commissioned paintings. Plus, it's so unusual for me to paint something I can't see... Yikes!

Jo Castillo said...

This is a lovely painting. It is always interesting to have a peek at how other artists work. Thanks.