Out of all the works I've created thus far, this one is in the top 5 for most meaningful. That being said, I really, really appreciate the positive reactions to this piece. Thank you!
Garth - I can barely comprehend the level upon which you work, the quality is so high. A compliment from you on my work is more gratifying and inspiring that you could know. I have to thank this evil typography teacher for pounding into my head the importance of type and rendering it by hand - thus the book came out well.
Linda - I know how you feel about female nudes and the respect with which they should be portrayed. The fact that you can see how I've striven for that in this painting makes me feel that I did what I'd set out to do. Martina is a very
real woman; a natural German beauty. She maintains her own farm and is fit by virtue of hard physical labor (you can just see this by looking at the musculature of her back). For a long time, as an illustrator, my job was to over-idealize portraits and figures to make products, books, etc. more salable. With Martina, I was finally able to paint a beautiful figure by staying closer to the truth.
Oh - and this painting started off more like a study, but turned into something more - thus the size. And I really love my Raphael 8404 #3 rounds. You can get pretty tiny with those!
Sharon - "Classy!" A wonderful compliment to my painting, though it's something I've never been accused of personally
. Hee hee.
Believe it or not
, I spent less time working on her posterior than her back. But, I did recognize how her curves are a nice foil to her strong back, so I tried to represent that femininity accurately.
Maria - Thank you! With regard to the Strathmore board: I used 5 thin coats of gesso on both sides (prevents warping). It's cold pressed board, so it has a nice, grabby tooth to it.
Carl - Many thanks. I have to admit that the lighting setup was something less-than-professional. I had a mud lamp with a 300w bulb strafing the scene. My old studio was a finished attic, so the angled ceiling cast a gradating reflected light (you can see how it's strong on her face, but diminishes by the time it gets to her right leg). There was this "hot spot" in the middle of the bulb, too - so I had to angle the light just so every session. One day, I'll have the right equipment *sigh*.
Linear Mode
