The Daydreamer mixed media portrait


The Daydreamer 
This is the second attempt at this week's lesson by Juna Biagioni.  She does all kinds of wild things to get texture, I still don't have some of her techniques down, but am using some of them and taking off on my own.

Again I started with a collage.   I hand make the papers and then chose the parts that kind of made a similar pattern on the kimono to what the black/white reference photo showed..  The top is part of Paul's used coffee filter and I put a couple of strips of handmade paper on the side so that she appears to be either in a doorway or window.  I had actually torn some of the greenish paper to make leaves at the bottom, but felt I didn't need anything else, so left it pretty open.

Then I went forth with water and brush and took wet charcoal and slopped it on for the darker background and parts of the hair.  I tried really hard this time to be sure I didn't get it on the skin area of the face and chest.   

One of the challenge of this piece was the unusual pose and head angle.  So I then delicately tried to add the shadows areas to define the face.   Because I had thrown in a pop of orange when I made the paper I felt I could get away with adding some of that to the face to tie in the orange.   I added both the blue and orange to a couple of strokes on the hair to add some color and liveliness.

Thanks much for stopping by and taking a look.

Comments

Joan Tavolott said…
I really like this! You showed such restraint in adding color to this, especially her face. I think you are right about the green papers. They definitely would have distracted from the rest of the piece. I love the subtle coloring but the strong darks of the charcoal.
June 27, 2019 at 7:54 PM
Sheila said…
I love the pops of blue. Of course I do. LOL :) Everything is perfect, the proportions, the details, the colors, the textures. Wonderful work again Nelvia! Wonderful expression too ;)
June 28, 2019 at 3:05 AM
Mellowood Gallery said…
Wow. This is super Nelvia. I am not sure about the orientation though; to me the pose looks more like she is lying down with her dreaming rather than being in a doorway. Great job!!!
June 28, 2019 at 12:15 PM
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