What do you think of this painting?

[Peregrinator]

"Bend," by Alexandra Becker-Black

 

[LiFeNdEaTh]

very nice...

 

[Sean]

I think it would look nice on the wall in your bedroom.

 

[CandiCame]

That it looks like pastels... What medium did you use?

 

[Peregrinator]

I think it would look nice on the wall in your bedroom.

Funny, that...

It arrived while I was away. It's in a crate on the living room floor, waiting to go to the frame shop. It's fucking gorgeous.

 

[koalabear]

WQ had a thread about that, Crow Bait.

 

[RjThoughts]

Now that I've seen it, my back hurts!!!

 

[CandiCame]

I do like the use of negative space, the anatomy is pretty good on the human- the back arm gives me a little trouble on the forshortening, but all in all it's a good piece. I really like the ribs and the back arch. I'm the tiniest bit confused on the shoulder joint, there's a muscle mass that either shouldn't be there or is in the wrong place. But like I said, I like it overall.

 

[blobfish]

It's nice. I like how both figures seem to be the center, both complementing each other. Is it a painting or charcoal?

ETA: Nevermind. I should read the title better!

 

[Liar]

Nice. Probably looks way better in paper than on a screen though. A backlit medium usually misrepresents this kind of sketch art.

 

[Peregrinator]

That it looks like pastels... What medium did you use?

I am not Alexandra Becker-Black, but it's watercolor. She uses dancers and yoginis as models, people she knows. I found out about her while Lady P was visiting Portland a couple months ago. The studio where Lady P used to teach announced on FB that Alex was having a show in the studio next door. I looked at the portfolio online and immediately sent Lady P to the show with orders to choose the right one and buy it. She saw them live and agreed. And now here it is!

 

[RobDownSouth]

Now that I've seen it, my back hurts!!!

My thoughts as well.

 

[CandiCame]

I am not Alexandra Becker-Black, but it's watercolor. She uses dancers and yoginis as models, people she knows. I found out about her while Lady P was visiting Portland a couple months ago. The studio where Lady P used to teach announced on FB that Alex was having a show in the studio next door. I looked at the portfolio online and immediately sent Lady P to the show with orders to choose the right one and buy it. She saw them live and agreed. And now here it is!

I hate working in watercolor. I have the utmost respect for watercolor painters- mapping out your negative space first is a pain in the ass.

 

[Peregrinator]

I hate working in watercolor. I have the utmost respect for watercolor painters- mapping out your negative space first is a pain in the ass.

I don't know that much about technique, but I'm always surprised by well done watercolor.

 

[chillywilly2]

I have no taste so I will say no...don't like it...not the work, the subject

 

[Peregrinator]

I have no taste so I will say no...don't like it...not the work, the subject

Interesting. What is it about the subject you don't like?

 

[CandiCame]

I don't know that much about technique, but I'm always surprised by well done watercolor.

It's ass-backwards. Instead of doing
linework
basecolor
shadows & highlights

like everything else you start with the top level and work your way down.

 

[CandiCame]

Interesting. What is it about the subject you don't like?

shoulder anatomy keeps bugging me...

 

[pete]

it's interesting, and technically well done
what's the medium?

edited cuz i was too lazy to read through and discover that it's actually a watercolor. in that case i'm even more impressed by the technical skill involved.

 

[Peregrinator]

shoulder anatomy keeps bugging me...

It is a little unusual. Like I said, Alex uses real folks, dancers and yoginis she knows, as models. It may be that the subject of this painting is a high-end practitioner of Ashtanga and has spent a lot of time in handstands and the like, so she may have some unusual development. When Lady P was practicing really hard, she used to complain that she had "boy shoulders."

 

[CandiCame]

It is a little unusual. Like I said, Alex uses real folks, dancers and yoginis she knows, as models. It may be that the subject of this painting is a high-end practitioner of Ashtanga and has spent a lot of time in handstands and the like, so she may have some unusual development. When Lady P was practicing really hard, she used to complain that she had "boy shoulders."

It's not that the muscles are to large or deformed, it's that the bottom one doesn't exist. If the model actually has a protrusion like that, it's like... a tumor or something.

 

[pete]

shoulder anatomy keeps bugging me...

now that you mention it, there does seem to be something amiss with the right delt/lat connection there. the shadows seem 'off' somehow

 

[CandiCame]

it's interesting, and technically well done
what's the medium?

edited cuz i was too lazy to read through and discover that it's actually a watercolor. in that case i'm even more impressed by the technical skill involved.

Yeah, anybody who can do ANYTHING with watercolor is a fucking genius! It's a bat-shit crazy medium.

 

[Peregrinator]

it's interesting, and technically well done
what's the medium?

edited cuz i was too lazy to read through and discover that it's actually a watercolor. in that case i'm even more impressed by the technical skill involved.

I was stunned when I first saw them online. Once we get it framed and hung I'll post a better pic.

Here's her website, in case anyone's google-fu is incredibly broken today. Note that Alex herself is a real cutie...

http://alexandrabeckerblack.com/

 

[CandiCame]

now that you mention it, there does seem to be something amiss with the right delt/lat connection there. the shadows seem 'off' somehow

That's not that I don't think it's awesome. I don't want to come off like that. I'm in awe of watercolors. Too many art classes make me feel like an asshole who doesn't care if I don't do a proper 'good points/bad points critique".