Workshop Family Portrait

Family Portrait   My Brother's Bar Mitzva

50 x 36 cm

Oils on grey cardboard

I have decided that since this blog is all about my Journey... I will be posting work done in my weekly workshops, various challenges, daily paintings, photography, which I have sadly neglected.  In the title I will put which category it belongs to.  

This was done in my weekly workshop.  The reference photo has a lot of history to it... It seems to have been haunting me in some way.  Everyone was smiling and I had a very sad, almost crying, face.  Why my parents chose this photo is beyond me.  Maybe the others were far worse... Anyhow there I was, a scraggly,gaucky pre-teen and feeling very sorry for herself.  I don't know why!!! I do remember that I didn't like the skirt I wore... A taffeta skirt that my mother hand painted a huge rose in oils which was quite stiff.

I have been carrying the reference image in my bag to class for several months, had made several sketches in my sketchbook but didn't really have a clue as to how to how I want my feeling to come across. I did see a family portrait at local community center that caught my eye... A family group where only the child was done in color, sitting in a chair, and the other family members with no faces and indistinguishable... I also liked the limited palette she used.  Since I wanted to distinguish myself from the others decided on the distortion... I would be bigger than the rest.... maybe I could have made myself bigger still.... Kept the smiles in their faces .. mine left blank.  I also exaggerated their stance and dress,, Heleni suggested I keep within the palette bit added the yellow on the skirt and on my braids an blouse.

I will post the reference... haven't scanned it... hope I have a duplicate because its a mess.... 

A little about the material.  I have used heavy 1/8 grey cardboard painting directly with oils . I did not gesso the board as I have done with my daily paintings.  I used thinned and also not thinned oils... Tried to use the palette knife but just would work... the board absorbed very quickly .. it was almost like painting with pastels.... I rather enjoyed it... and will continue the series... family stuff using this method.