Painting Sara: Part One.

Buenas Noches, Amigos! Few disclaimers before we get started here:

1- Sara, my friend who so graciously posed for the creation of this painting, is a beautiful young lady. Don't be fooled by my sketches and painting ;)
2- Luisa Maria, my other friend who also graciously took the photographs of Sara, is a great photographer.
3- This is the very first time I'm attempting to paint a full face of this size, lit by candle light, with all sorts of shadows and warm/colder tones on the skin.
4- Learning to paint a healthy, proportionate face is making me go to bed angry (I told you I paint at night!)
5- LEARNING TO PAINT SKIN IS KICKING MY TRASH!

Alright, then. I can now tell you (and show you) about this painting's progress. This past summer, my friend Charlotte, who is a very talented chalk artist (among other media), convinced me to participate in this International Art Competition. I had thought about it before, but then abandoned the thought, when I knew that artists like Rose Datoc Dall had participated and won in the past (I own three prints of her paintings, they are wonderful and very moving). I mean, these are professional artists with a lot of experience and education in the matter. But, the competition is open to anyone who's interested. I thought, "Well, there's nothing to lose! All it can do is push me to paint more and hopefully create something better than I would otherwise". So, I decided to do it. I registered (gulp!). Entries are due November 3rd, 2014 until February 27th, 2015.

Since the topic is "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus" and the submissions should be about the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles in the New Testament, I started studying the scriptures to find some inspiration (and an easy enough subject to paint with my skill set at this point -let me remind you: Beginner!!). I came across this scripture passage in Matthew 5, in the Bible:

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

I was so happy to find this passage! Immediately I thought, "I could paint a woman holding a candle!". This was a very happy thought, indeed. All the other ideas required painting a group of people (which is pretty challenging for me now) or Jesus himself (and that has got to be one of the most difficult subjects to paint ever! Do you imagine? You have to show others how you see him and, hopefully, teach a beautiful message to the viewer at the same time!). Then I thought about my friend Sara, who is such a beautiful lady. I don't know why, but I imagine women from the scriptures looking a lot like her. I asked her to pose for some pictures that would later inspire this painting. She accepted and then my friend Luisa Maria accepted the challenge to photograph her in candle light.

All three of us finally got together (and our children, who were running all over Luisa Maria's house!) and got some pictures taken. Here are some of my favorites:

I LOVE this one!!!!!

Then I got sketching. I tried charcoal, pencil, pen, and oils. The results kind of got scarier and scarier with each one of the aforementioned media! Oh man! This is going to be really challenging... but I'M SO GLAD I'M DOING IT! It only means that I'm working harder at developing new skills and that's  always beneficial. Now... are you ready for this? Here we go with some of my interpretations :). And Sara, please don't be offended... this is a work in progress!!! :)

Sara. Charcoal sketch.

Sara. Pencil sketch.

Sara. Pen sketch.

Sara. Pen sketch.

Sara. Pen sketch.

Sara. Oil sketch before color study.

Well Amigos, I hope you stick around to see how this painting develops. It's going to get ugly before it gets beautiful, but be patient with me. I have the feeling I'm going to learn great things from this experience, and that this is only the beginning of the Painting-People adventure that I have always fearfully tried to avoid. Now I need to go to bed. 

Thank you for reading!!!

Candela