DDTK Canvas Painting

     As i wanted to get back into my painting i had a go at one on a canvas. For my first attempt i am quite pleased with how this has turned out. I feel like i did the shading quite well as it is not patchy. I did find it difficult as i pictured the girls skin to be pale white so adding tone to the skin was hard to do. I dislike the eyes the most as they are different sizes despite the fact that i measured them, i also find it difficult to add tiny details to the eyes. I think next time i could try using colouring pencils in order to build up different shades of colour and dark and light tones. I want to improve my painting skill so i could re do this painting and make her look less cartoon like. and add some rough, colourful paint strokes to add some texture.
    I wanted to paint this girl as i visualise this shot for a music video idea for the song "Dont Delete The Kisses" by Wolf Alice. In this video there would be a short shot of a close up of this girls face where she is looking up and singing the lyrics. I visualise her as pale white, with white hair and a white dress so she stands out from the other dancers who are wearing bright contrasting colours. It also makes her contrast to the one male dancer who would be in all black, i thought this would show a ying and yang effect conveying how they fit together. Additionally, it shows how she is keeping him in the dark as he is never in the same room as the other dancers, fitting the lyric "Im re telling jokes you made that made me laugh, pretending that theyre mine". Furthermore, throughout the song she is romanticising her love for him, "im like a teenage girl", so i thought the all white would represent the image of a bride whilst the man in all black represents the lyric "me and you were meant to be in love, i see the signs of a lifetime, you til i die" showing how it never happens in real life as she was too afraid.
     I picture her skin as white and shimmery with pastel colours of blue and pink, creating an unusual extraterrestrial appearance. First of all i felt the shine glimmering at some angles would be quite pleasing to the eye as it creates an aesthetic. I considered using my makeup highlight to add a glow to her skin on the painting. However, as i wasnt happy about the quality of the image i didnt want to ruin it by mixing in colours that i hadnt prepared for. Instead i stuck down some stars as if they were freckles and added a spray of yellow paint in attempt to create a dazed mist as if she was daydreaming. Unfortunately, i had watered down the paint too much making the paint spray too much onto areas of the canvas i didnt want. To improve this i would create some practice experiments of the girl from different angles so i can try the shimmery highlight look and the yellow spray with a better understanding of what i am doing.
    Lastly, i broke a piece of clear glass and stuck it onto the canvas. Ive always wanted to experiment with glass and look forward to taking it further. I wanted broken glass on this piece to represent a broken reality. The loss between fantasy where she is depicting an entire life with her crush before realising it is not real. On the other hand, it represents me daydreaming in a similar way and creating this story. The broken glass connects us as i create these visuals, putting my daydreams into this reality. In my opinion i think the glass isnt sharp enough. The way the glass broke didnt create any interesting jagged edges so in the future i would like to find a way to make sure the glass will break this way in order to make it appear as if it was smashing.
     Another idea i didnt execute and would like to include in future developments is lipstick stains. At the end of the song i want a shot of the girls face covered in different coloured kisses from the other dancers. I want the girl in the colour white to show her loss of personality and detachment from her reality, as if she was a ghost. Towards the end of the song she realises her fantasy isnt real and comes back to her reality. The colourful dancers are versions of her that she left behind and is now coming back together- she is learning to love herself and live in the present. I liked the idea of adding lipstick stains on the painting by kissing the glass. However, i didnt have all the colours i needed. Again when i recreate some experiments i will definitely include and experiment with this idea to try different materials and techniques.
    During the creating process i covered her eyes and lips with pieces of paper ripped out of a fantasy book. I thought it changed the image quite dramatically as it prevents the viewer from connecting to the girl as they cant see her eyes. This block shows visually her detachment from reality, the fantasy taking over her mind and emotions. I decided to not keep them on permanently as i wanted to use my bad drawing skill to reflect and compare later on when i have hopefully improved. However, i will definitely bring this idea back to experiment with, possibly using the book pages as background to draw on as well as it could appear as if she has no eyes at all and the viewer is looking through an empty gap and seeing the background- continuing the ghost idea.