2/4/08

ANOTHER TIME

Painting portraits is exciting and challenging. When the brush gets it just right,the person comes to life. This photo of an old man from China was taken in the 1940's and brought back to the U.S. by a serviceman. His wife said she'd let me paint it. I was thrilled. There was a certain regalness about him that I liked, although he must've been very poor.

His droopy eye, his beard, and his hat - I loved them. And his coat wrapped him up so snug in that cold climate. My friend Linda has the painting now, looking down on her in her kitchen. He has a good home now.

"LOOKING BACK" Transparent Watercolor on 140#HP Arches 16 x 21" SOLD

8 comments:

Suzanne McDermott said...

Magnificent piece, Sandy!

Suzanne McDermott said...

PS I like the slightly revamped look of your blog.

Dawn said...

Is there anything you cannot paint Sandy? This is just lovely!

Sandy Maudlin said...

Suzanne and Dawn, Thanks so much for the comments. And Dawn, I have trouble painting curvy, loose free flowing things.

About said...

A stunning portrait!! You've really captured a feeling...love it!! I was thinking the same as Dawn...can't wait to see what's up next!!

Trijnie said...

Everything I see here on your blog, is surprising me you are very talented (forgive me for my English)

Anonymous said...

amazing portrait. i just started painting in watercolor, and your blog has been really helpful. thank you! (also, what do you use to sketch your subject before painting it?)

Sandy Maudlin said...

Hi Joanne,
To sketch my subject I use regular pencils. To get a good likeness (from a photo) and to save considerable time, I often trace an enlarged photo first, then revamp and tweak the tracing to be more accurate before painting. Thanks for visiting. I enjoyed your blog and travels too.