Woman Holding Hat
 

This is a painting from earlier last year. It is oil on canvas and 30" x 24". It is done from life - no photos - but I did make up a bit of it from my imagination.

Whoa! I really like this Thomasin. It has impact and immediacy, and it's pretty hard to look away!

Thank-you, Chris. It was one the first looser works I did after being very tight and lacking in confidence for ages. It was a bit of a breakthrough for me.

I can see how a painting like this would certainly build your confidence Thomasin, it's beautifully done. :thumbsup:

Thank-you very much, Dan. It's kind of you to say so.

Thomasin, I had admired this strong painting on your website and I am happy to see it here too. I find it a striking image that shows you are just not afraid of going for it.
A powerful work
Ilaria

Thomasin, I am so curious to know what you mean about being very tight? I am asking because I am finding myself to go the opposite way. I look at my earlier work, which I thought to be very "Sargently" painted :D , mostly watercolors but as I discovered the lack of solidity in them my confidence went down the drain. I cant help looking at your paintings in two ways. First I see the face and the eyes looking at me and that is fascinating, but then I squint down and look for the complete solidity. Thomasin, don't get me wrong this is not meant as a critique, I am not qualified to do so, anyway. I am rather questioning my way of viewing your work.

Ilaria - thank-you very much for your always welcome comments and compliments!

Grethe - Thanks for your comments too. I do appreciate your critical comments, even though you said you weren't giving me a crit. All honest responses to my work are appreciated and of course you are qualified to give a crit, so feel free! You are right about the face being more solid than the rest. It is. I worked on it more than the rest. The rest of the work is there in relation, and in subservience, to the face. The body and surrounds are not as solid, but at this point it did not matter to me. I was trying to get a flesh-likeness and a feeling of character and once I had that I stopped.

The paintings I did prior to this I constantly had an imaginary audience/client

Thank you, Thomasin it is very interesting to hear your thoughts.

Thomasin,
If you were going for a "real sense of flesh and character", I must say you succeeded immensely. I

A moment, a revelation the next thing you know is that you gazed through the frame of Mrs. Harris. This is all we know at times, until, next time. As you are well aware there is more to the things around us than what we know and see. Where does one connect to understand is but a start. If one looks to self and spends a lifetime there what will the end result be? Philosophy is not my thing but the truth is. As a artist, I wish to know the truth and walk that narrow path of the truth. For broad is the way and many travel on it but that road leads to --. There is a saying that many roads lead to Rome but only one leads to the truth. I believe the same can apply to art.

Allowing the things created to speak, I believe, will get you closer to where one needs to be. I really like your "real sense of flesh and character" approach. Many artists copy what they see, and most of us do this quite well, but the feeling that you can reach out and touch is hardly there. In many cases it is close but if we are not looking for it, I do not think that we will find it let alone understand.

Thank you Thomasin for bringing this up and sharing your thoughts and work. I am glad that what I saw in you, when you introduced your self to the forum, is coming to lite.

Thomasin,

You have such an original way with heads. Simple and subtle. They are are painted with a few shift of values, very hard indeed to do.

Lovely piece.

Carlos, Mischa, and Sharon - Thank-you very much for your comments and encouragement.

Thomasin,

I've seen and admired this on your website. What strikes me is your utterly personal vision and your way of delivering it to the "unsuspecting" viewer. For most people, to hear the title "Woman Holding Hat" is to conjure up a vision of a standing woman, striking a pose, perhaps with hand on hip, holding the hat with her other hand. Being faced with this portrait then is like a revelation. She is indeed holding a hat, really holding it. Her hands and her face are painted marvellously with, as Sharon mentioned, a subtle range of values and color changes. I am especially fasinated by her upper lip and glimpse of teeth. And the crooked nose. She's such an individual it is almost shocking, but beautifully so.

Alex - Thank-you very much. I really appreciate the time you take to think about your posts and make sure you express just what you really think about a work. And, of course, you are always very generous and kind with your compliments too. You make me want to paint more and more!