I’m enjoying painting images from the 1960s and 1970s. Maybe it’s something about the impossibly high beehive hairdos or the wild curls. All that product they must have used! I could never get the hang of using different products in my hair so maybe that’s the root of this interest, something to do with all that hair.
To be honest, the hair in this image was intimidating when I was thinking about painting it. But once I started painting, it all fell into place. The key, I have found, is to paint what I see and not name it. I don’t think about painting “hair”, I am focusing on the darks and lights, how much cool light is on the hair, how much warmth is reflected from the skin.
This “key” applies to painting anything, not just hair. A barn isn’t painted as a barn, it’s a patchwork of values and colors and edges. It’s a wonderful feeling to paint what you see and then step away and watch the strokes of paint dissolve together to make an image.
I exaggerated the colors, which seemed appropriate with that wild hair, and that afforded me a lot of creativity and fun with color! This is 16”x16” oil on canvas. To see even more hair in one painting, take a look at “Suburbia”.
She is spectacular! I like the title too, well done!!