Title and Medium
Boat transportation in Venice. Acrylic on canvas board. 41 cm x 33 cm.
Artist's Statement
I took the picture five years ago; today, I have decided to paint it with oil.
I always begin by making a preparatory sketch with a ball pen and a single acrylic color, here cerulean blue (hue). But this time, I have decided to stop there… Because… my son says to me: ”I like this painting just like that! Please, don’t retouch it! Make another one which you will finish with oil!”
It is really difficult, even impossible for me, not to end a painting until the classical final oil stage, as a meticulous student would do. I do not like the “non finito” look, my obsession is to finish!
However, I admire the fascinating paintings of Giacometti, in which we can see both the drawing and the monochromatic color. But I say to myself that it really needed some courage to paint like that, because of the non finished appearance and the “dirty” look of some of his paintings (excuse me Sir) ; but he would tell me the goal of an artist is not to please at all costs, even his model!
What I'd Do Differently
- I dare say I like my work but I feel that it is not enough elaborated. Like a loose draft.
- The color overflows by the outlines.
- As a sketch it would be okay, but being a terminal piece, am I not a little lazy here?
Marion Boddy-Evans, Painting Guide, says:
For me it doesn't feel like a final painting, but a study, an investigation of the possibilities in the scene. There isn't enough in the painting to keep me looking for as long as a final painting would.
