Waking Among the Clouds: Step 5
Even though painting the clothing involves the very same technique as did the bedding (the shirt is even the exact same colors), it is a lot more interesting to paint. Certainly there is a degree to which the wrinkles in the sheets have to be accurately painted in order to give the illusion of the shape of the bed, the impression of the weight of the figure, the softness of the cloth etc, but there is a surprising amount of wiggle room, especially in areas like the upper right where the drapery is more randomly bunched up. With the clothing there is considerably less room for error. There is the familiar form of the figure giving rise to the overall pattern of folds in the cloth, and if that general form isn’t kept in mind while painting the folds and wrinkles, it really shows in the final painting. I remember reading a comment made by one of my favorite figure painters, Bouguereau, that the most critical skill an artist can possess is the ability to see both the general and the specific at once. This is a great example of what he meant. Attention has to be given to the details in order to paint the cloth convincingly, but those details don’t add up to much if they aren’t painted in their proper place and scale within the larger form of the figure. So, while the process is the same whether painting sheets or shirts, it is far more gratifying to see the shirt start to take shape.
You may have also noticed that not only is the drapery complete, but the hair has been painted as well. The combination of the model’s dark hair color and the nature of the lighting left almost nothing to paint as far as detail in the hair. It was quick enough work that I painted the bulk of it at the same time as I was working on the skirt. The upshot of all this is that now I can turn my attention to the really fun stuff: the arms, hands and feet.
