Flaming June- My way,WIP

[jo_b]

Hi Boys and Girls :wave:
It is me again, posting another wip, but it is all Nickels fault!!!!! She had to start the thread about Leighton, and the info and pics there got my blood going. I just had to try my hand at a similar remdition of his Flaming June.

So Here it is at it's current stage. About 1/3 of the way thru adding color. I will be doing a lot more impasto work in this one then I usually do, for the fabrics. But the rest is the usual style.

I did a verrdacio of raw umber and flake. And I used terra verte for the shadows. I am using all earth tonesin this as I think Leighton did, since it is more a color study then a portrait piece. It is a fun one to attempt. We shall see how it goes.

Palette:
Flake white
Raw umber
Burnt umber
Burnt sienna
Red ochre
Yellow ochre
Indian yellow
Cad orange
Vermillion
Terra verte
I see some cooler reds in his painting so I may add alizarin in the fabrics


http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/25-Aug-2005/59346-flaming_june_1-resized.jpg

Thanks for looking!

Have a great day all,
Jodi

P.S. Does her head look too big to you? It is soo hard to get the proportions right on this one with all the strange angles and foreshortining going on.It looks ok in real life, but now onscreen I am not sure. I just drew her freehand.

P.S.S.- added the but icon "just in case"

[bjs0704]

I’m glad to see you at it, Jodi!

Leighton’s work is so beautiful and “Flaming June” is particularly so!

I like the choice of colors for the underpainting! It looks great!

I hate to say anything but I expect that you may be right about her head. It’s about a long as her upper arm or from the shoulder to the waist! Check the length of the upper leg (hip to knee) to the lower leg (knee to sole of foot).

You’ve got a nice start! Good luck with it!

Barb Solomon :cat:

[Sherry Richardson]

Jodi,

You are such a brave, brave woman to take this one on. It's coming along beautifully. Thanks for sharing your color choices--I am almost to the point of adding color to the fabric on mine, so this is timely. Keep us posted.

Sherry

[DLJohnson]

You are doing it! I am so glad. You are brave. I will be checking in for updates, great start BTW. You make it look so easy and I know it's not.

Donna

[jo_b]

Update:
Flaming June has lost her head! :eek: :D
Well at least in my version. After looking and photoshopping her I decided that indeed, her head was too large, so it has been "chopped off" much easier to do on canvas, then to enlarge her body! I will post a new shot of the wip when she has her "new" smaller one :D

Jodi

[jo_b]

Hi again :wave: just thought I would let you all know that June is still faceless, but not headless any more :D
Have been working on the drapery for most of the day today, WOW,.....
Now I understand why they called Leighton a Master of drapery, This has to be the hardest drapery I have ever tried to paint. The orange fabric is supposed to be a gauze that is sheer over her body but opaque when it is covering the other fabrics and the same with the yellow orchery fabric. The rich brown fabirc seem to be much more substantial. trying to get the texture correct on the gauze is really tricky, let alone the colors, but I will keep working on it. I love a good challenge and this certainly qualifies!

Here is an update of the faceless june:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/28-Aug-2005/59346-flaming_june_wip_3_resized.jpg

Have a great day all,

Jodi

[DLJohnson]

Hi Jodi,

This is a challenge for you, yeah, sure. You make it look so easy, and I know is not for most. The fabric is so transparent and silky soft looking. This will be great.

The image popped up and I did really LOL with her face missing and all. Can't wait to see the next update.

I am off to see your self-portrait.

Donna

[jo_b]

Good Evening Leighton Fans :wave:

News Flash......Flaming June is getting a face!!!!!!!!!!
Well the start of one anyway. :D began work on her face again today. So it is FAR from done, but at least the first velatura is there. You can almost see her features :eek: Then I have been working and working on all that fabric!!!!! It is so detailed and intricate, wow, loads of work to do still. I am doing the fabric in glazes so there is a depth to it. It looks to me as if Leighton may have done it in the same way, or at least in a simalar fashion.

I have a couple of pics to post but I am not sure just how much different they look resized and on screen from the last pics. But trust me, in person there is a big difference.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/30-Aug-2005/59346-flaming_june_wip_4_resized.jpg

That is it for the night.

Jodi
Sorry about the glare! :o

And a close up of the area of the drapery that I have been working on:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/30-Aug-2005/59346-flaming_june_wip_4_close_up_resized.jpg

[Sherry Richardson]

Jodi--this is looking wonderful! The change in the face made all the difference in the world. Excellent work on the fabric, too!

Sherry

[jo_b]

Thanks Sherry!

Yeah she doesn't look like one of those big fat baloon head toys now :D

The fabric seems never ending! I can work on it for hours and when I step back to look or take a pic, it hardly looks like I have done anything at all :eek: . I have the feeling this painting will take longer then anyone I have ever done before. Maybe I will finish it by Christmas :rolleyes:

Jodi

[bjs0704]

Keep up the good work!

Check the length of the head from front to back!

Your doing great! The drapery is looking good!

Barb Solomon :cat:

[jo_b]

Barb- Silly Woman- there is fabric behind and above her head, that is not her head and hair you are seeing :eek: sheeehs!!!! :D

Here is a really close up pic, but I guess it is hard to tell the difference between the hair and the fabric from the pic and right now the color is pretty close to each other.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/31-Aug-2005/59346-flaming_june_really_close.jpg

Jodi

[bjs0704]

Jodi - Hehe!! Ok, as long as you have it straight! This is going to be neat when it is done! :cool:

Barb Solomon :cat:

[Sherry Richardson]

Jodi,

Oh.......do I have a quote for you! It's a quote from Leighton that I came across last night while reading Newall's book. Leighton wrote, "I can paint a figure in 3 days, but it may take me 30 days to drape it." Now doesn't that make you feel better? He was a master at drapery and look how long it took him.

This should give comfort to all of us who toil at the feet of Leighton's fabric.

Sherry

[rosebard]

Hi Jody,

I really enjoy your drapery work on Bougie months ago. I am sure you are going to do fine with it. Take your time and keep going. Looking forward to watch your progress! :clap:

:wave:

[jo_b]

Hi All-
Sherry, I am not so sure that is a comfort, I would be happy to finish all the drapery in thirty days. but thanks!

Hi Rose- That was soooo much easier to do then this, for one the colors are all translucent so to get the weight and textures of this right takes some real work. I still have a long way to go, and I am not sure if I will ever get His drapery, but I am trying.

Finally had a chance to work on it last night and this morning. At least she has a real face now :D

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Sep-2005/59346-flaming_june_wip_5_resized.jpg

Jodi

[DLJohnson]

Hi Jodi :wave:

Amazing! Your paintings are so beautiful and this one is no exception. Your fabric looks so transparent and light. She looks really close to being finished now. http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/04-Sep-2005/7846-clap.gif

Donna

[jo_b]

Thanks Donna- As of the last pic here, she was still far from being fnished! I have been working on her most of the day today. Finally doing the background, and it is now sitting to dry. I will post a pic when I really am finished. But at least as of the end of today, I see light at the end of the tunnel :D
I must say, that with the background in it really has a totally different, more pulled together and much richer look. (it is simalar to, but not the original.) Dare I say, both Mike and I like it with this background better then Leightons :eek: (May the classical Gods have mercy on me! :angel: )

Jodi

[bjs0704]

I am looking forward to seeing your "improvements'! So far, June looks great!

Barb Solomon :cat:

[jo_b]

Thanks Barb-
Waiting over, she is finished. I must say I am very pleased with the final painting. This one will be hard to part with. It did take longer then most of my paintings, but not as long as I though it would. I do tend to get obsessed about working on a painting, and will put in very long days on them till I have them where I want them. This one was no exception. I don't keep a record of my hours in the studio, but I asume it took somewhere between 100 and 150 hours to complete.
I hope you all like the changes I have made from Leighton's original.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/08-Sep-2005/59346-Flaming_June_finished_resized.jpg

Have a Great Day All, :wave:
Jodi

[rosebard]

Very nice work on background and drapery. Very nice painting Jodi, well done!! :clap: :clap: :clap:

[jo_b]

Thanks ladies for looking, and the really generous complements. It will be hadr to seel this one, for both Mike and I. It is not often that I REALLY LOVE one of my paintings. I usually just see all the flaws in them, and would just as soon sell them and get on to something new.

Have a great weekend all :wave:
Jodi

[Sherry Richardson]

The harder the struggle----the greater the reward. At least that is true sometimes.

Jodi---excellent work here. I can see why you want to keep around.

Sherry

[Biki]

Good going, Jodi.

The fabric especially is looking great.!

I was thinking recently, that to paint, takes courage.
This is what we have in common - all of us. Even the best of them.

I caught a snippet of a program on Chagall today. He was such a marvellous man. Very inspiring. He said he paints that which is inside of him..... but constantly doubted himself. Yet he had the courage & the drive to just "do" it.

[jo_b]

Thanks Tricia-
I have to agree with him, and Da Vinci who said "A painter who has no doubts about his (or her) own ability will attain very little. When his work exceeds his judgment, the artist learns nothing, but when his judgment is superior to his work, he will never cease to improve." So in that respect, I must be learning alot :o Because I constantly think I will "screw up" the piece that I am working on, but keep trying non the less, to get it "right"

Jodi

[DLJohnson]

Hi Jodi :wave:

Bravo! Just beautiful. I would keep this if it were me.
Donna