I realized...

After having working for finding samples of the work I appreciate, love, would like to do, I have realized that I could be one of those people... I'm basically in the same place artistically and skillwise where I was when I was 20. I still consider some of the work I did then as my best... and it was over 20 years ago. If I only had worked as hard as they did, I'd be among the illustrators and artists I mention in this blog... I didn't, so in order to get there when I'm 60, I better start working now :-D

One of my biggest problems is impatience. I have no patience with working on the same picture enough to actually finish it.

Let's look at my Dina series. This is "finished work" as far as I'm concerned, but they really are nothing more than sketches.

 The first one is very Disneyesque. I am very pleased of the symbolical background - it starts with virginal white and through romantic pink love and flames of passion it ends with blood.

This was one of the original sketches. Dina looking up from the white bedsheets, stained with her husband's blood. I experimented with the dripped paint as blood, some splatter, and then I got the idea of making her hair with wet paint as well, to show the state of chaos.

 With this one I continued with the same background idea, but changed the face to less "pretty". I also had the idea of letting the blood bleed into her hair, as her hair was to bleed to the background... it didn't work as well as I wanted. Too dry background. Nevertheless, I like the blood tree on her face.

Her face reminded me of Helene Schjerfbeck's paintings, and in the next I stylized it even more. I was pleased with the white face, big, black eyes and twisted red mouth... poor girl, caught in the middle...

This is the final image. Very much simplified, stylized, and the blood and hair works very well.

Nevertheless... It perhaps should be something like this:

 Botticelli: Discovery of the murder of Holofernes

John Opie; murder of (David) Rizzio

Interestingly enough, both paintings are very similar... using mainly red, white and a lot of shadows, black and dark shades, big contrasts and a lot of cloth... 

Another interesting thing is that Dinah is not an interesting subject to paint.

Perhaps something like this?