Freeloaders
24" x 36" x 1.5"
oil on canvas
Isn't it like that sometimes? The concept seems perfect but the execution doesn't go quite as planned making the urge to abandon things very strong.
I have to remind myself with pretty much every painting that it goes through phases and that sometimes the "ugly" phase takes a bit of time and effort to push through. It's well worth the push and the angst when suddenly everything starts to gel and you can see just what stroke to put where and it works.
It's often little things that create that turning point, like deepening contrasts and adding just the right amount of detail to make object come alive.
In reality this painting did not take the forever that it felt like while creating it, but it did test my patience and my observation skills from the initial drawing, which was complex (a lot of measuring to get proportions right), to tackling all those blue hues. Using colours that are very similar, like these blues, require the insertion of other colours to liven them up. Complementary colours and touches of contrasting colours provide some reality and vibrancy, even if at the time, they seem unreal.
