In my new series, "Wise Women," I am focusing on portraiture of women who practice love through their art. Art can take many forms ... fine arts, performing arts, medical arts, mystical arts and many more.
I've always though that there was just as much creativity in science as there is science in creativity.
"The Fortune Teller" is painted in oils with dramatic light intended to bring out her mystical Bohemian spirit. Her dark gypsy clothing is accentuated with hand-dyed batik fabric sewn to the canvas. Her headband is braided and sewn onto her painted hair. A real jewel hangs in the middle of her forehead. Her eyes gaze knowingly at the viewer as she holds her crystal ball.
"In this work, I started thinking about what this wise woman could see with her crystal ball. Haven't we all, at some point in time, wished we could see into the future?"
Chiaoscuro
I wanted to create a face that had enough light and contrast to be a good foundation for a dramatic oil portrait. I began with a pencil sketch on canvas and then refined it with Quadricine Red Oxide acrylic painted lightly over the drawing.
Painting the hands
Drawing and painting hands presents a real challenge for me as an artist. Here, I have taken a reference picture holding a glass bowl to try to figure out the best hand position for the "Fortune Teller."
Dramatic effect
The portrait floats on a dark mystical background. In order to create texture, depth and drama, I braided batik fabric and stitched it to the canvas, adding textured fibres, embellishments and a large jewel to sparkle on her forehead.
Finishing the details
Once satisfied with the background, the face and hands, and the costume effects, I began to work on her gray hair. As you can see here, I began underpainting in Payne's gray and added strands of white and light gray over it to create her hair.