Monday, August 11, 2008

June paintings

Here are the two paintings I did for my mom back in June. They were my first attempts at doing photo transfers. They are also what got me back into acrylic, at least part-time.



Roots


First of all, this isn't exactly how this piece looks. I left both of the paintings from this post in Texas and forgot to photograph them. My mom tried her best to get a good shot of this piece, but the area she was working in wasn't cooperating, so there are shadows and light streaks... but I think you can get the general idea from it, so here it is.

For this piece, I painted on masonite board. I laid down some background washes, then did the photo transfer. I finished it by distressing it some and adding a few details, like the trees in the background and the roots at my grandparents' feet. It is approximately 5"x7".

I loved this image of my grandparents because I didn't get to see them like this very much as a kid. I'm pretty sure the original photo of them was taken before I was born. I remember them most clearly as either taking walks with us to parks or to the grocery store, or just hanging out/cooking/and cleaning around their place. As a youngster, I didn't photograph them much except outside of the chapel they went to for church, or at their place, in Warsaw, Poland. So I liked that this captured them happily together near the Wistula river.




Heritage


Here, I painted on canvas, 9"x9" I believe. Unlike the previous image, where the printout I used was straight black ink, this was a full-color black and white print. The differences are obvious. While some mid-tone values came out(which I liked), it didn't transfer as well (I'm not a fan of that). I didn't really mind that it went purple-ish. I'm into random "errors" in my art, and think that in this case it added to the piece. After doing the transfer, I went back in and added some more detail and some washes and then glazed the thing for good measure.

I wanted to capture a happy moment for my mom with this painting. The original photo was from her visit with Dale to Poland back in 2004. It was taken in their home, but I cut out all of the background that was initially a part of the image to simplify it. I like all of the different prints that they are wearing. In real life they were all kinds of different colors, so I like how the transfer process helped unify them in a way.

5 comments:

mamo said...

Dearest Nelka! your paintings have a lot more carisma (sp) but here one is able to see at least in some way what the paintig gives me, a sweet memory of my parents at their "happy moments". thanks so very much for that wonderful gift. i love you xoxoxo me

Nelka said...

At first I was trying to figure out what they had more charisma than... but I realize that you mean that they look better in person. Or at least that's what I'm taking from it. So, thanks! I'm so glad you like them. :)

mamo said...

ooh, yeah...you are right; that IS EXACTLY what i was trying to say...and i also noticed that i misspelled "painting"...how did i do THAT? i was just overcome with emotion...

Anonymous said...

hey cool, i guess i'll get to see these paintings in person soon enough, but wow- photo transfers are awesome!
i think it can be difficult to truly "capture" a loved-one's exact image, so the photos do it for ya, leaving the viewer to attached their own memories as well as interpret your presentation.
i think u did a wonderful job at antique-ing *is that a word?* the pictures.
i especially enjoy the "roots" and the smiles =)
might i also add, i love ya'll bunches! <3

Nelka said...

Hey jess, thanks! Yea, you'll have to tell me what you think of them when you see them in person.