Young Harpist
 

Here she is in final form. I apologize for the long delay between her WIP debut and her unveiling. The contrast on the full view is not quite right, but this is by far the best I'm going to get it after playing around on Photoshop. This is from a CD; the color of the scanned slide was much worse, though the slide itself looks fine. Hope it reads well on other monitors. Thanks for looking!

Wow Alex,
What a beautiful painterly work of art.

I like how you ended up with this painting, especially how it comes through that you know the figure and only serves the essence to us.

She seems to have full control, like a spider in her net.

Allan

Ps. Please fix the panel, it is not quite straight yet. ;)

This is stunning, Alex. You have made a nice and seemingly effortless principal focus on the harpist. Thomas Eakins would like this.

Garth

She's beautiful, Alex. The colors are so rich and lush.

Jean

Congratulations, Alex!

I like the hue of the hair highlights.

Joy Thomas
www.portraitartist.com/thomas

Alex, grate job! I love the painterly look! Everything is there the sheer, the shine, precision and the flow. You have captured the grace of the sitter and the passion she has for music. Yes!

Alex,

I followed this closely in the WIP section. It was a privilege to watch your process, both in painting and the thought that went behind each decision. I'm so glad that you posted this finished work . It looks stunning on my computer. I can only imagine that in real life it must be truly impressive!!!

Allan, thanks all over again. Do you mean the baseboard? I swear I fixed the ^(*^)*&)(*#$^$% thing with a ruler no less, but it does look funny in the photo.

Garth, you are a pal! You keep likening my work to that of famous artists. First it was Peale, now Eakins. Of course you happen to pick some of my favorites. It might have too much color in it for Eakins' taste, though.

I forgot to mention the dimensions: 68" x 44"

Thanks Jean, Joy, Mischa, and Cynthia!

I realized I should give some kind of background information on this painting. It is part of a series I am working on so it was not originally a commissioned piece, but it may be purchased by the family of the girl. She is a teenager, a serious harpist, and this was an attempt to show a musician in the act of playing, accurately with respect to hand position, feet/pedal position, posture, etc. I wanted to capture the feeling of grace and hard work that go into playing the harp. It's really a very difficult instrument to play, because hands and feet are working together. Thanks for noticing that, Mischa. For those of you who haven't followed my WIP, it explains in more detail.

It's funny about color: I seem to enjoy it and appreciate it more as time goes on. The hair, Joy, happens to be one of my favorite parts of the painting because from afar it looks so dark, practially fading into the background, but when you get up close it is made up of all these purples, blues, and oranges. It was a lot of fun to paint.

This is just gorgeous Alex! Congratulations! I so want to do larger pieces, youve inspired me.

Oh Alex this came out just lovely!

I can hear the music coming from those delicate fingers!

She must have been trilled, as you must be too!

:thumbsup: Beth

Oh, Kim, you have inspired me equally! Thank you. That reminds me--congratulations on your Charity getting into the OPA show!

Talk about BIG--what about that huge portrait head you just recently finished?

Whoops, Beth, I'm sorry I didn't see your post. Thanks for being able to "hear" the music. I listened to hours of her practicing while working on the drawings and color sketch, and it was really an auditory and visual treat. Do you ever feel anxious that you will be able to capture something as you are working on a painting? I get anxious, kind of a nervous energy, and it spurs me on. In this case there was this incredible sound of the harp reverberating in their large living room. As someone mentioned in the WIP, the sound was even in the colors and pattern of the wallpaper. I think there is a fancy word for that blending of the senes, but I can't think of it.

Alexandra, just beautiful. I would so love to see this in person - to learn.

-David

Gorgeous Alex!
Beautiful in every detail, I like your edges, value control, composition and colors.
And Yeah! I can hear the sound of the music!

How wonderful that I got to see this again on Valentine's Day! It literally makes my heart pound. I feel there is a lot of tension, as she is in the middle of playing and I am anticipating the sound. There is so much movement and so much lovely color, it is an exciting painting. :thumbsup:

I could likely do the math myself, maybe I am just lazy... would you mind giving me in idea of how big the head is in this painting? Or the hands? I love those close-ups too... I never would have guessed some of the colors that I see up close from afar.

Bonfim, glad you hear the music, too. Thanks, I'm glad you approve of all the different aspects--edges, values, etc. The color started with the pink dress and the rest fell into place when I saw the room where she practiced. I knew I had the elements to make it work together.

Valentine's Day! Happy Valentine's Day, Lacey, and everyone! It was just a coincidence; actually I posted this last night pretty late. Maybe anticipation of sound is even better than sound. Like the foot in the "up" position has potential energy. Her head size is 7 1/4"

I've seen this painting and Cynthia is right, it is a knockout. Congratulations, Alex! That dress looks particularly fine.

A big harp is a surprisingly gutsy instrument, by the way, it shudders when you strum and has a real presence (I used to take harp lessons, briefly and badly, alas). You've done a beautiful job showing the concentration in her face.

Gorgeous, wonderful, lovely, inspiring. All the above and aforementioned. It was doubly great to see it unfold. Thanks a ton, Alex. Janet

Thank you, ! if this inspires you to get to work, well, that is great. We all need to get off the computer and get to work, including myself.

Linda, thank you so much for saying those lovely things about the painting in real life! That was a fun afternoon hanging out with Garth in the studio. I forgot that you mentioned having played the harp. My daughter also played for about 6 or 7 years but we could never afford one of those big ones, so she kind of stagnated on the Celtic harp and eventually gave it up. I miss hearing it in our house. It has such a sweet, full sound. I bet you played better than you are letting on. ;)

Janet, I really appreciated your support during the WIP and now--thanks a bunch! I can't get over how impressive your portrait looks.

Hi Alex, that mixing of senses your were talking about is called "synesthesia". Michele Rushworth and I have it, colors become sounds or physical sensations, music becomes a symphony of color. There are all kinds of variations. My sense of smell drives me nuts sometimes, especially when it comes to body wash! Some smell "crunchy or prickly", some are hard like chopped ice, but some are velvet. :sunnysmil

Your painting definitely has all the rich overtones and undertones of a synesthetic experience!

Jean

Synesthesia
 

That was the word I was trying to think of--like anesthesia but with a different prefix. I've done that, too, as long as I can remember. When I was a little kid, the days of the week all had colors, music (I especially remember Waltz of the Flowers and the Firebird Suite) evoked entire scenes with vivid colors. In fact the original theme or intent of the piece couldn't have mattered less. I even remember an argument I had with a friend in elementary school about what color each day was! I couldn't believe someone could see it differently.

I wonder if most artists experience things this way? Anyone else have synethesia out there?

Thanks, Jean.

Alexandra,
WOW!!! This is really beautiful. The face, the hands, the feet are obviously beautifully rendered as all have commented. I'd like to even comment on how beautiful the harp is, how lovely it sits in space. The magnificence of the harp, against the rich background and the beauty of the portrait - all harmonize beautifully! Congratulations.

I never heard of the Bead Game. What is it? But I do love they way Degas experiences--and makes the viewer experience--color. It's incredible.

Pat, thank you! Painting the harp was quite an experience and it made me pretty nervous, worrying about getting the right number of strings, getting the strings to line up with the pins, and the pins in the right place on the curve, etc. Makes me want to try it again.

Gorgeous painting! It must be stunning to see in its full size, real life glory. As someone else said, it's irridescent. I see you use a lot of pink. Is that Old Holland Brilliant Pink I see in there, by any chance?

I love color too, it's the whole reason I paint. Though you'd never know it from my largely tonalist paintings. I struggle to keep the chroma strong but I never succeed to this degree.

And speaking of color, Monday is yellow, Tuesday is a kind of steel blue, Thursday is reddish brown and Saturday is always black!

Ladies, I'm having trouble getting off the forum this morning! Already there's a book I have to read, and I can already see a discussion forming about the colors of the days of the week. (I always saw Sunday=yellow, Monday=white, Tuesday=blue, Wednesday=chartreuse, Thursday=brown, Friday=black, and Saturday=red.)

Yeah, I love those 19th century painters and the Japanese influence. That was my concentration in college--19th and 20th century art.

As for the pink in the dress, I have never tried O.H. brilliant pink. Is it a light color out of the tube? I usually use saturated colors so I can make them as light or dark as I want. I think I used mostly W&N permanent rose and Gamblin perylene red. Next time I'm in the art store I'm going to peek into an OH tube.

No, no, no.... Sunday is white, of course. However, Old Holland Brilliant Pink IS really Pink. Glad that's settled.

It's a very saturated, very bright pink. Hot pink, I guess you'd say. It was recommended by Tony Ryder and I've been using it on my palette for the last two or three years.

Beautiful piece, Alexandra! I love the loose feel with the colors.

Synesthesia - my stepmom's family has two members who have this - both artists - they learned young not to talk about it, because people thought they were crazy.

Hi Julie, thanks so much for your kind words. It's always nice to see your name and avatar pop up. I guess synethesia must be wired into artists' brains. Frankly it's hard to imagine not having it.

Michele, what do you usually use the pink for--clothing? Skin? And how does Tony use it?

I've ben itching to see this in Unveilings, and here it is!

Wow. Just wow, Alexandra. I, too was following the WIP, and your process through to the final has been a great service to all; I know I learned from it! Thanks for letting me make a (very) small contribution there.

And since Michele mentioned this - besides a pink dress, what would one use OH Brilliant Pink for? Sounds like one of those "scary colors" (think pthalo).

Oh, Rob, how nice! I just finished commenting on another thread and I saw this pop up. It is so nice to know that at least some people were looking forward to seeing this in Unveilings, because to tell the truth I thought we had beat it to death over in the WIP section. So your comments are very much appreciated. Yes, it was quite an experience having the process watched over by so many artists. Once in a while one of my artist friends will drop by my studio and citique a piece I'm working on, or I'll drop by their studio and do the same, but that's nothing compared to what happens on the Forum. I really valued the experience, the suggestions, and the discussion that went on.

Alex,

Just thought I'd add one more note about synesthesia (sorry - couldn't resist - it's a fascinating subject to me). Definitely hard-wired - MRI's have been done that bear out some evidence for this. For an interesting read on the subject, try The Man Who Tasted Shapes, by Richard E. Cytowic.

Brilliant pink is not really that useful as a color straight out of the tube but is very helpful in mixtures. I use it to cool down light areas, especially to prevent skintones from getting too orange. It's also handy in features that are normally warm but where you don't want them actually red, or orange.

I also use Pthalo green in the same way: not as a color straight out of the tube, but to cool down some darks. Pthalo isn't on my palette that often, though, because it has such pigment power that it gets into everything if you're not careful. Brilliant Pink isn't that powerful.

Here's where I thought it might have been used on this painting, for example:

Synethesia in pink
 

That makes total sense that synesthesia is inherited, though I would think every individual would have a slightly different version of it.

Aha! So that is the pink! I think I used W&N permanent rose, maybe mized with Gamblin perylene red, in those areas, and in the dress.The perm. rose is a bit bluer than the perylene red. Below you will see both of them pure and mixed with titanium white.

Left: perylene red
Right: perm. rose

Gorgeous Alex!! Everything in this works so well together. The harp has such presence and she is just moving. Beautiful and inspiring!

Hmmmm. . . on the synesthesia thing -- my son describes smells in color. That one kind of threw me. :bewildere

Terri, thank you--again! (The first thank you was for cheering me on during the WIP. )

So your son associates colors with smells. Is he talented in art, too? I would not be the least bit surprised to hear that he is.

Alex,
I love this painting. It has a wonderful feel to it. I just read your WIP posts and it was very informative and interesting. Thanks so much for taking the time to share!
Mark

Mark, thank you so much! It was both fun and helpful to paint this with a WIP going. I got so many helpful suggestions and encouragement, it was like having a bunch of artist friends over every day to check the progress and keep me on track. So I'm glad you liked reading it.

Wow!
 

I just saw this today. Thanks Alex! I had a visit to her studio and saw many treats in progress. The Harpist is a painting that must be seen to be fully appreciated. The scale is wonderful, and the strings are so cleanly painted. The posted images do not convey how well this is painted.

Garth