To Face or Not to Face

 

My husband doesn't like my figure drawings/paintings. That's totally fine. It took him a long time to appreciated my landscapes also. However, he is so very supportive of my work and my career even if he isn't an 'art' person as he puts it. When I first started bringing home stuff from my live model sessions, he would comment, "Where are the faces?' or "I guess you don't know who to draw faces." I tried to explain I was drawing figures and shapes, not a person. I wanted to create mystery and have the viewer insert their own idea of who it represents.

His comment got me thinking...do I know how to draw faces? I tried a couple small face paintings of family members and totally bombed! I was being to literal, too tight, too picky, too realistic, too everything and I spent hours on these little paintings. This is not how I wanted to paint. What happened to me wanting to experiment with more abstract work? Maybe I couldn't paint faces after all. I decided to study other artists whose worked I liked and admired. ( Michael Maczuga, Ingrid Christensen, Scott Burdick, Nancy Guzik, and fellow acrylic painter Chantel Barber, just to name a few). I wanted a more painterly, loose and free feel to my faces, and of course working in acrylics makes it even more difficult.

I gave up on my family members thinking I was trying too hard to achieve a likeness which was not my goal. I found some free stock models, used a larger brush, decided to paint faster and not make any lines...only shapes. I know my proportions are a  little off but painting this way allows for more freedom from painting within the lines. I have a long long way to go but I am beginning to see the light. A lot more modeling sessions and studying for me. But I am not giving up on my faceless paintings either, sorry husband.

I thought I'd share a couple of faces and faceless paintings I have been working on.