Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Daily Painting Practice - 30 Self Portraits - Day 27

click on the image to enlarge the painting

The Artist's Hands
Self Portrait - Day 27
8"x10"
oil on masonite

My director of new ideas/wife suggested I paint my hands as a self portrait. She says, and I agree, that a person's hands can tell as much about a person as their face.

Posing just the hands for a painting requires a bit of trial and error. The trick is to not make it look like the arms were chopped off the body like a piece of butchered meat. I wanted to experiment with the idea before actually doing a painting but as I played around , this composition stuck with me.

It is in a very rough stage. Not close to being finished. But I like the pose. I started on a dark pre-toned board. So I was painting the lights out of the darks. This was a lot of fun. I may explore this idea a lot more in the future.

6 comments:

Charity said...

Wow!!!! You say it's in a very rough stage, but already - wow!!

m collier said...

Wonderful !! Very expressive.

Anonymous said...

I just love this. I'm going to come back to it again and again. There is so much your hands have to say about you. So much character.

Lizzy

Beverley Amah said...

I just love this piece but I love all of your work. I actually started on the road to being a daily painter when I read a small artical in a magazine in a waiting room about 3 years ago. You were featured in the article and when i went home i went online and found your blog and the rest is history. i have been following you ever since. I have a technical questions for you concerning your blog. What gadget do you use in order to create your image gallery on the left side of your blog, the one featuring all 30 images of your work. Would love to add this feature to mine but have not been able to figure out how to do that one. Thank you for any help you can lend me. I look forward to seeing your next piece. take care
beverley amah

Sheila Vaughan said...

Wonderful painting with so much feeling Peter.

Jack said...

WOW! i think we all should respect the artist hand..which gives us nice paintings..
--
Jack
Best Affordable Security Systems Suitable for Renters and Apartments, Business and RV