Sleepwalker

This is the new painting Sleepwalker, which I mentioned in my latest post. It is fairly large at 42 by 7o inches(canvas size only), and is also one of my first multiple figure compositions. I have been working my way slowly to first larger paintings (which actually feel more natural) and to more complex works as well. Another thing about this painting is that it heralds a new series of work in which I will focus on the motif of dolls, and the making of them. You may have already noticed my interest in creating small ones.

This is a more dreamlike, surreal painting than what I have done before. I wanted to give the feeling that the figures were dancing, and yet somehow not quite there at the same time. The one in the foreground has gone inert, like a marionette, while the one in the back directs their motions.

In keeping with the theme of dreams and sleep, I have arranged and drawn studies of side figures to go all around the frame. You can see one of the arrangements above, featuring sleeping putti, pastries, and a teddy bear.

In the image above the frame has been primed, and I am deciding what imagery I want in the frame and where. After several of these preparatory drawing are made, I transfer them section by section onto tracing paper, and tape them in the place in an organized manner. Charcoal has been applied to the back of the tracing paper so that all one need do is re-trace the drawing with a fine point to transfer the design to the frame. This is a technique I learned while studying in the Florence Academies; we used to transfer our drawings to canvas this way.

Here you can see that two of the drawings have been transferred and painted in with oil paint. The effect I am going for is a Tromp L'oeil, or eye popping effect. It is a lot more decorative, exaggerated, and moreover on the ornamental side so as not to compete with the main image. I made the frame wide, simple, and white to further emphasize the space of the painting within. While Sleepwalker is dark and gloomy, the white of the frame brings out some of the lights such as those found on the girl's dress and hat. The ornamental putti also act as supportive elements in that they mimic the poses of the dancers. They are candy colored as well and serve to lighten the overall effect of the piece. Their dress style mimics that of the girl, and the frilly child's Victorian wardrobe adds charm and more of the "sleepy Alice in Wonderland surreal character" to the whole vision.

Anyway this is a good start. There are many more putti and ornamental figures to paint in around the frame. Not to mention the painting itself, which needs a lot of work. I just wanted to show you this at different stages so as to give you a better understanding of how I work.


Detail of Orlando Furioso


Detail from left- This guy is floating upside down. My inspiration for this may have been Alice when she goes down the rabbit hole. In every version of the story you have a wonderful assortment of falling objects, twisting and turning in the air. These are going in slow motion.