Some people make art to make a brazillion dollars. Some of us are more interested in the process, than the product. I doubt anyone needs a Clown face, but I needed to paint it.
My boys are friends.
Here’s the painting I did a long time ago. Yesterday someone posted the original photo.
Green Portrait
Go with Green
If you are contemplating painting a portrait, and the white canvas or paper is intimidating, start with a large and bold swath of green. It is such an unlikely color to be the foundation of a portrait. I did a painting for my brother-in-law after he had surgery to remove a brain tumor. The staples on his bald head were astonishing. He asked for a portrait, I took photos, and the canvas mocked me with its whiteness. Smack, Permanent Green light! And it was so shocking that I did the portrait called “Zipperhead”.
On New Years Day, 2012, I was … scared, conflicted, fat, etc. Who was the bozo who thought up Resolutions? I started a self-portrait. I’d been struggling with acrylics, and this was back to my tried and true oil paints. Hookers Green, Indian Red, Golden Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, and Ivory Black. I don’t work with black paint. Someone had said I shouldn’t. Someone else said try a new color, an artists New Year’s Resolution. My hair is dark. I decided to do a self-portrait with black hair and a bit of black humor. The oils drip marvelously. Since I’m new to black, I went easy on it. That helped, but a palette knife full of green smack across the middle really loosened me up. Take this, you smug Resolutions!
I’m enchanted by cadmium yellow dark, whether oil or acrylic. It’s like cattle escaping the stockyard. It is not a polite color. I love it, because it gives me fits. It’s like plants that reseed in your garden, in the WRONG spot. Wrong according to who’s rules? Wearing brown shoes with black pants is wrong, according to WHO?
The Indian Red mixed well with the other colors. Instead of painting my wrinkles, I scratched them into the opaque paint with a skewer.
Don’t be afraid to start a portrait. Slather on a wad of green paint at the beginning of a painting, and you’ll get something unexpected, and not boring. Remember a portrait is about who someone is, not how they look.
Susan Livengood(c)
1/5/12
2012 Better be better!
As bad as 2011 was for us financially, I’m more confident in my painting. So I expect each and every one of you to buy a painting in 2012. And I expect the US govt. to work. RIIIIGHT!
Marsha
No, she doesn’t look like this. She broke her ankle. Surgery, 9 pins, a plate, and six weeks off of that foot is going to be a trial. Trying to work and pay for the hospital is going to be …more than a trial. She has no insurance thanks to a preexisting condition. This drawing is my take on the situation. Also, it’s the first time I’ve drawn on vellum. I really like it. This is 3’x2′. The roll is 36″ wide. Gregg’s going to make me a drawing board from a sheet of plywood, so I can draw as large as 8’x3′. I like drawing big, but then how to display it is a big problem. I’m supposed to cover it w/ acrylic sheet, but it’s very expensive. My approach is to pin it to the wall, but then it isn’t suitable for “collectors”. I want to enter a drawing show at UNCA, but not spend a fortune, which I don’t have, anyway, on framing two large drawings. Oh, well, my problems are nothing compared to Marsha’s.
These are for…
Kim showed pottery & Nick showed paintings, but they couldn’t attend. These will give them an idea of their display.
new gallery space
We are hanging our first show in Sleeping Stones Gallery. It’s a classroom next to my studio. These are huge classrooms off of the Fines Creek Gym. The windows are 8 ft. tall. Go to haywoodarts.org for a map for the HOST this Sat. and Sun.
Ringing in his ears
The scar is where he had the brain tumor removed. It was benign, but it didn’t stop the ringing in his ears. Hearing aids helped the tinninitis and now the tumor won’t grow into a problem. He titled this portrait 
“Zipperhead”.
no neck
Hugh has lost a lot of weight and I’ve got him looking like a line backer. The scars are globs of alizarin crimson. I have to stay away from them til they dry. Then I’ll add white for staples and black for scabs. And I’ll work on his neck!
Zipperhead
I haven’t done a portrait in a while. Hugh wanted one w/ his staples from the removal of his tumor, Ygor. This is day one, but I’m not terrified now.