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Before the fix |
Dearest
Readers,
Last
time I told you the story of a painting called "Grace", named after
that amorphous gift from out of the blue that arrives without warning, perhaps
undeserved, but definitely welcomed as an answer to my painterly conundrum of
what to do next. She is done. This painting. Completed. I am content after ten
years of carting this big girl around with me.
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Before the fix |
Last
time I blogged and whined about the intensity of its eye motifs, and the
cheezy-ness of that dripping tear. All gone. No more worries. I quite simply,
(timidly at first) toned down two of the eyes as a test.
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One of the eyes after the fix |
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Another eye after the fix |
I covered them with
white paint to match the background, and quickly ragged it off. Then I brushed
some back on, then off, then a lesser amount on, then I walked away, out of the
studio. I kept returning during the evening taking sneak peaks. A few days
later I shared these baby steps with my stalwart "Art Crit Group"
from Atlanta via FaceTime on my iPhone. "Keep going," they said,
"pick a few more to soften here and there".
I
waited a few days, then last Saturday morning in bed a realization welled up
that a gradual muting of the eyes in the lower half of the piece made sense
with the arrival of Grace from the upper half. I plunged ahead, dabbing and
erasing, covering and partially revealing. It worked! I even brightened the elements in the upper half.
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Final painting after the big fix |
The eyes now rest easy
within the picture plane.
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Add caption |
I even painted
over that pesky teardrop that spoke of sadness with a cudgel. I took a full
view photo, and several details. Funny, the closeup of the central melancholy
eye revealed a hint of the underlying tear. It was still visible beneath the
new dabs of acrylic!
This time I had no doubts. The tear must go in favor of a
subtler image. I am at last content. My hope for you, dear viewer, is that you can
experience this painting now in any way you like.
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Revised brighter detail |