I was thinking of the man butt comment (she does have a man butt) and it got me thinking that I’ve figured out to get the basic contours first, then get the background going. I let it overlap the outline of the subject, then paint over it again later when it’s time to finish the body.
This has turned out to be harder than I thought. When I get to that part of the painting, I’ll be studying that butt very closely. And the spine, ribs, arms, hands, gap, etc. I eyeball the shapes and shadows but it does get distorted.
I’m a friggin amateur at this stuff but learning fast. Need to work on some other stuff though. Door panels for car, Enterprise, new guitar design (I’m working on a custom Tele).
But this feels good. This painting is compositionally weak and cheesy. Even after all these hours working it, there is a good chance it will get painted over or turn into a totally different painting. I think that’s the fun. There is risk every time you touch it. Risk that you will do something that ruins it. Ideas come only from working it. I don’t have any ideas going in.
One thing I’ve been doing is putting paint on with my fingers, letting it set a bit then wiping HARD with a cloth. That’s how that fire texture came about. I also scrape it hard with a metal spatchula and spray it with windex to further smear and blend.
But that butt will be glorious when I’m done. Or there will be no butts at all. Who knows?
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