figures Archives - Dora Sislian Themelis Art

Painting Figures in Watercolor

If you asked me to draw the figure in charcoal, pastel, or pen and ink I can be pretty loose and free with my style. Posed models, stationary people, or bodies doing a repetitive motion is easy enough to get down on the paper while drawing. Even painting a figure that isn’t moving very much is easy enough.

People dancing is another story. In gesture drawing you can get enough lines on the paper to suggest the human form in motion, but more than that, I don’t think so. That’s where photographs come in handy, for some artists, maybe not me.

When I use a photograph things get dicey. I see way too many details. I can’t squint enough to blur the two dimensional scene. With live models my brain decides what to keep and what to eliminate. In the latest watercolor I did of the dancing party I took my reference from that photo and drew the scene with the least amount of detail possible. Then I went in with color. Working like that felt like a coloring book, a cartoon.

These three paintings are examples of people sitting and standing in pretty much the same position, just enough stillness for me to capture their poses in watercolor paint. I posted about this class, which was my first intro to watercolor painting. It was a horrible class, but I made the best of the situation by painting everyone in it. The instructor didn’t like me one bit. I was not going to paint his painting of someone’s painting. Enough said. Look up the post if you want to read more about that.

Playing Laouto (c)2000 Dora Sislian Themelis
Watercolor

Gregory (c)2000 Dora Sislian Themelis
Watercolor

These two pieces were done live also. The top is of Son#1 while he was practicing his instrument. The second is Son#2 as he was doing his homework. Both were worked without prior drawing except for the shape of Son#1’s head just for proportion. Basically, I sketched in paint. Do these paintings look melancholy to you?

Here we are back at the dance party painting. I can see the difference between this and the others. How could I have treated this differently without seeking out a dance party to paint at? I didn’t try to go at it with just paint and no sketching in pencil. Would that have made the difference? It’s still a photograph though, not live.

Me, Whimsical?

Having finished the dancers painting for the person interested in illustrations for their book,I emailed the image with fingers wimply crossed. Yes, I said wimp-ly. As in like a wimp. Should I have said sheepishly? Anyway, I was thinking it might not be to their liking with the “whimsy” word being tossed about.

Do I see my painting, or myself, as whimsical? I think not. My kids would say “Who, you? Uh, no.” Those are smart, observant guys, those kids of mine. Yeah.

I think watercolor work is light and airy by nature of the medium. Would I call my handling of the medium melancholy? So I lean toward Prussian blue and alizarin crimson, are they sad, depressing colors? Not in my opinion.

I paint what I see generally. With photos I see too much. From life there’s no time or room to see everything, which is what I like about painting from life. I am not sure it’s even possible to use watercolors to capture a crowd of people dancing unless in abstract forms or quick gestures. Maybe that would have been a better way to go, but I needed a reference, hence the photo.

What can you do? Can you please everyone? No.

I will continue to stay positive, or invite the unwanted advances of Mr. Resistance. I decided the operative word was “Yes”. I went with the flow. I tried my best with what I thought would be okay, and maybe not how I would have liked it to be.

After working from life going back to a photograph for guidance didn’t feel exactly right. Being true to myself and my own objectives may be more important in the long run. Book deal or no book deal.

But I Like the Photograph

Dance Party (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
8×12 Watercolor on Arches paper

Well, it’s finished. Or let’s just say I’m finished with this. I had to stop. If I had continued I am not sure what kind of mess I would have gotten myself into. There was nothing else to do at this point.

Shall I tell you what I like, or what I don’t like? How about this: I like the photograph I took of the original scene. The suggestion from you dear readers to add lights or banners was a huge help. I decided to make it look like an outdoor party and the lights strung over head were just what this needed. Not to mention the fact that in Greece they decorate exactly like this.

I’m not so sure what else to say about it. But if you have something to offer go ahead and let me have it. Good, bad, doesn’t matter. Tell me your opinion. I’m an adult. I can take it.

Starting Something Different

The latest news flash is that I have been asked to do some illustrations for a book on Greek culture. The interested person happened to see some of my work online and liked the style of landscapes I did of scenes in Greece.

It’s exciting, yes, but the thing is he thinks my color choices are dark and melancholy. This particular painting that he liked was on the washy side and I guess that’s what he’s interested in. I’m not so sure I am illustrator material. I think if there’s a work someone likes maybe I can recreate that feeling but it might have to be on my terms. It’s the idea that I paint something a certain way and that’s it. Now my work has to have limits or direction, but it’s not coming from me.

Well, anyway, I’m working on what he suggested and maybe he’ll be interested, or not. He wants figures dancing and having fun. That’s fine, but since I have been painting from life lately I’m not used to using photographs. Dancing people are not easy to paint from either, photo or no photo. I’m taking liberties with the poses and just going at it.

I sketched out this photo I found in my pile, of a party I attended with our Greek dance group a while ago. My son is on the right playing his bagpipe and people are dancing having a good time. Using the twenty minutes time slot I lightly painted in some color values. What this is going to look like painted up may not be to this person’s liking, but it’s a painting and I’m doing my best, regardless of the outcome.

I don’t know about melancholy, though. Looks happy enough with energy and movement. Let’s see what happens when it’s finished.