The last 24 hrs. have been quite a revelation into the underbelly of what this hobby really is--or isn't!
Andrea's Warrior of the North appears at first glance to be a simple, straightforward - even ba- sic! - bust. And it can certainly be approached as such, as the source did in their underwhelm- ing article in Figure International no. 54.
But will a "basic" approach bring this piece to life? As was unequivocally revealed to me this weekend, the answer is a resounding NO! The palette--the complementary reddish browns of the leathers and the bluish/greenish greys of the gambeson; and the cool-ish black of the mantle--creates an achromatic, lifeless melange that somehow must be worked around, if not enhanced, to make this bust "pop". The North might be bleak and drab, but our figure must transcend the austerity of its natural setting.
I believe I'm back on track with my vision of this piece. With the 'basics' out of the way, it was time to "freestyle". Every aspect of the selected colours must be taken into account to create a chromatic harmony that is visually appealing. Form will be a secondary consideration that will be defined through tonal manipulation once the figure is completely painted.
This is, IMHO, what this hobby is all about! Since the turn of the century, the goal has increas- ingly been to paint for the camera, reducing a three-dimensional object to a 2-d illustration. While I don't see that changing any time soon given the virtual world we live in--and the fact that it is the "low road" and flattens the stylistic topography, it does not mean we have to buy into it. . .
“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003
No comments:
Post a Comment