Conversation (Nan and La)

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thank you all!

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

Beautiful conversation piece, Alex.

Nice play on words, Sharon. The tablecloth was probably the most difficult part of the painting aside from the figures. It involved getting the perspective right and pushing around the blue and white edges, adjusting the values, etc. I used a lot of ultramarine violet and cad yellow light in the shadows, which I used to vary the temperature on the shadow sides of the cloth.

Allan, here is the closeup. Keep in mind that Nan's head is only about 3 1/2 inches long.

Thomasin, I'm glad you like it. It's amazing that such a small work could be so complicated. It is somehow easier for me to make decisions to stop developing detail in places, or to put more in in other places, when I am working small. I think it is due to my timidity around large brushes, which I'm trying to get over by forcing myself to paint with them. I really enjoyed painting the corner of that map, so thanks for noticing .

[Allan Rahbek]

Alex, thank you for the close up.

Painted by the feelings. !

There is no way one can see what the brush is doing, it's controlled by intuition. I wish that I could paint that way in large scale.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Originally Posted by Allan Rahbek

I wish that I could paint that way in large scale.

Me, too!

[Carlos Ygoa]

Alex,

My eyes are drawn immediately to the figure of Nan--you have handled her figure supremely well--the body language, the hands so typical of the way an elderly person would have them with that seemingly constant tension; and the expression of the face (!!)--such maestr

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thank you, Carlos! I think your comments will carry me through the day and beyond. Yes, that expression is a very Nan-ish one--but so are all the other expressions I've painted. When you know someone and use her (or him) often as a model, capturing their essence becomes more complicated and frankly impossible in a single painting. I can see how Andrew Wyeth spent years on Helga.

[Garth Herrick]

Perfect, Alex!

What a warm inviting setting. I can smell the fresh baked cookies in the nearby kitchen.

Garth

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thank you, Garth, for your comments on both of these. I really appreciate your astute studio critiques which help bring my paintings to the point where they can be unveiled.