This is a portrait of my friend Ashley selling Bitch magazine at last Thursday in Portland OR. I'm working on a Portland series right now, and this was my first painting towards this series. For those of you who don't know, Bitch magazine is a kick-ass non-profit publication of feminist writings, based in Portland OR. Last Thursday is an art street fair on Alberta Street, PDX. Occasionally I join forces with the loverly Ann Heideman to set up on the street to sell our wares. She sells jewelry and tarot card readings, and I sell my cards and prints. Ashley, who is the subject of this painting, was interning for Bitch when I snapped this pic of the bitch. ( I had several other references, besides the picture of her. I usually work off of more then one reference picture)
I have here a series of pictures, illuminating my artistic approach and thought processesesesssess''''...
First I draw, and map out the painting, keeping in mind the proportions and the general composition. You can see her head ended up being too big in this drawing which I didn't catch until I stood the painting up on an aisle and stepped away from it to view it from afar. Many artists make the heads' of their subjects' too large probably cause it's the focal point of the painting and fun to geek out on...
Next I try to fill the whole of the paper with paint all the while, considering my color scheme and remembering a light source. I tend to forget about a prominent light source during this stage, which is problematic later in the painting...
For this painting I worked out the background next. I was determined to have it be set specifically on the Alberta street art fair, so I put some art vendors in the background. I also put a bike on it, keeping in mind Portland's love of bikes.
I was painting this in Tucson AZ so just look at all that beautiful desert sun light I got to bask in while I was painting! No wonder folks get so colorful in the South West! During this stage I was keeping in mind how much of a bitch Ashley is. Ha! For reals though: I was thinking about 'attitude' and how to convey it in this painting. I spent all day on her face.
And in the final stage I'm concerned with details, details, details, values and more details. The final stage is my fave part of the painting. FIN