Bold woman's portrait

Bold
Ok, for today's portrait I went out of the box and decided to try a different look and approach. This is on watercolor paper, I applied a layer of paper collate over it (you can see that some of it started lifting - so got to use more medium to glue it next time)  Anyway then I tried to leave part of that under collage showing, even in the face.  Went back in and applied several more light lawyers of transparent and opaque paint and then put in the hair using my dagger bus.   Gosh that brush makes hair so much easier

While this might not the best example what are your thoughts to taking portraits this more dynamic direction?

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Comments

Joan Tavolott said…
I really like this. The richness of the color really makes it stand out. The colors and movement of her hair and background, especially on the left is great!!!
October 19, 2018 at 6:37 PM
Sheila said…
Love this!! Again, her eyes are just drawing me in. I love the style and textures. Yes, more please :)
October 20, 2018 at 4:58 AM
hmuxo said…
Wonderful portrait Nelvia!! Loved your previous painting of freckles!!! I commented but it never showed up!! You're doing so well with your portraiture paintings!!!! I look forward to your next one!!!
October 20, 2018 at 8:44 AM
Mellowood Gallery said…
the texture is very interesting Nelvia and I like the colours you chose - great job!
October 20, 2018 at 12:06 PM
carol edan said…
Beautiful portrait! Were the collage papers plain? Great to get out of the box, so much more interesting!
October 21, 2018 at 4:55 AM
Nelvia said…
Not sure if this comment will go through as the others didn't.
October 21, 2018 at 9:45 AM
Nelvia said…
Will try again, I had another picture in mind to do but when I saw the background I thought this was the better choice. I fell in love with her hair and eyes.
October 21, 2018 at 9:46 AM
Nelvia said…
You know I love to do the eyes. She was just so confident and bold. Wow. Yes there are definitely going to be more trials in this direction.
October 21, 2018 at 9:46 AM
Nelvia said…
I don't know what is going on with social media these days, they all seem to have problems. Thanks much Hilda. I always count on you guys to tell me like it is and if I am getting too far out there, to reel me in.
October 21, 2018 at 9:47 AM
Nelvia said…
Have more ideas for texture and right now am enjoying that and mark making. Not sure how to make marks on a portrait and pull that off, but well, will give it a try.
October 21, 2018 at 9:48 AM
Nelvia said…
Thanks Carol, I sure like working with color more than just black and white, too stark a contrast, but it sure does help working with values. This has newspaper, magazine color pages and brown paper bag as the paper on the under collage or "underpants" as one artist calls it. You can see some of the newsprint in the cheek area, but a lot of it was lost in the end.
October 21, 2018 at 9:49 AM
Robie Benve said…
What a powerful portrait Nelvia! It's full of mystery and personality, I'd love to have a long conversation with her. The collage, including the "wrinkles", add drama to it. Love it.
October 24, 2018 at 8:42 AM
Nelvia said…
Thanks Robie, it is fun now trying to do different faces using the combination of media, it is very freeing to see how to get to the vision.
October 26, 2018 at 9:29 AM
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