“Inspiration Visits” 6×6 oil on canvas

This is my attempt to put some of my day 7 flowers on a figure. Sometimes for the faces I use a reference photo, usually from pinterest. And sometimes, I just make up the face entirely, which is what I did today. 

I don’t usually have an idea about what I want the person to look like, I just start putting eyes where I know they go and let the other features follow. The person looks different every time, and I am always a little surprised by how they come out.

Today’s painting is less soft than my others this month. She has an intensity I really enjoy. I know the flowers and the bird can tend to go in a more sentimental direction, but, in this piece, I think they come across as strong. 

This is the first piece this month that I’m not sure is really finished. I may give it another look in a day or two and see if there are some strokes to add. But for now, this is my little day 9 offering. I’d love to know your thoughts.

All my paintings from the month will be available February 3 at the gallery and online February 6.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Greg Molchan

    Interesting! During the brief time I drew caricature, I learned to start with the nose. I think the reasoning was that placing the eyes the right space apart would be easier after that. But I’m wondering how different artists go about filling in face shapes now, and why.

    Reply
    • Denise Hopkins

      That makes sense! I have always started with eyes because I use them to measure everything else– an eye’s length between the eyes, and eye’s length to the start of the nose. An eye’s length from bottom of nose to where the lips meet, etc.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Written by Denise Hopkins

More From The Blog

Mary Oliver’s “Hurricane”

I had two friends reach out recently about hardships they are facing. The kind of hardships that feel so unfair, so unnecessary. Both times I immediately thought of Mary Oliver’s poem, “Hurricane” which I have taken to reading nearly every morning. I’d love to create...

read more

On the seven hundredth day…

 I do a painting a day every January to set the tone for my year, establish strong creative habits, and to make sure I prioritize my art which, over the years, has become synonymous with prioritizing myself. But when February (finally) came, as it always does, life...

read more

Day 31. Blessing for the Seeker

"Seeking, Striving, in it with all my Heart" 48x48in oil on canvas “I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.” -Vincent Van Gogh This is the part where I stare at the blinking cursor on my screen. Because there’s a jumble of thoughts, of what I could...

read more
%d bloggers like this: