Our first project was Scholastic 144. Basically, we could do whatever we wanted, so long as the piece was within 144 inches. We were also given the confine of a theme. My theme was "Creepy" and "Fairytale". For my theme, I was inspired by a particular fairytale: Allerleirauh/Donkeyskin. These two versions of the same fairytale give imagery of silver, gold, and dusty fur. I wanted to incorporate these elements into my own piece, while also giving the woman a sense of purity, inspired by iconography. I wanted the woman to have a feel of grabbing the cloak made out of the Donkey in a desperate and despondent way. My plan was to make the majority of the painting dark, gray, and dull, and to have the icon circle be the focus with the warmth and reflects. My underpainting consisted of a gray wash and the circular icon. I worked out the basic composition, furthering the underpainting of the donkey to a cool brown. Here it is rather clear that I forgot to take progress shots, as there is a big jump here from what there was. Mrs. Maclay and I decided that the composition demonstrated in my sketches was too confusing, so we simplified the image to be just her swaddled-like in the donkey cloak. I had worked in some more fur texture and repainted over the cool brown with a more teal blue, to give the portrait a cooler appearance; cooler as in temperature. I also did undeveloped silver details in the background. This right here was when I got wreckless, but in a rather successful way, if I do say so myself. Here, I decided to Hell with the cool theme. Mrs. Maclay had suggested me on numerous occasions to look at Gustav Klimt's work (artist of the famous "The Kiss"), and to look at examples of iconography of the Byzantine Empire. In both, the background matched a similar theme to the metallic use of paint. So, I went on a whim and painted the whole background brass, gold, and golden silver. I also darkened and roughed up the donkey while also adding in some highlights. I could tell I was getting closer to the end result. And here is the turned-in result! I have yet to sign it, but I will probably be doing that tomorrow. I will probably resubmit to apply a little more attention to the woman. Otherwise, I am rather proud of this piece. It took a lot of patience and frustration, but I really think that it both demonstrates the fairytale very well, and also gives an eery feel. Peep the Klimt-inspired dress, as well!
All in all, I think if I had to do it all again, I would certainly take more time figuring out how the composition would work and the color scheme. I would also look at more reference imagery from the beginning to see how other artists used metallic paints. I believe that the work really developed and grew, and even if it is not my best piece of work, I am certainly proud of it. It still might need a little more TLC, but for now I can start working on my Metamorphosis project.
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