Portrait of Andrea

Description

Portrait of Andrea is an oil painting on wood panel that was created using a very limited palette. The only colors used in this painting are purple, red, black, white, and a light blue as an underpainting. The image was created using the similar techniques used in grisaille paintings. Grisaille paintings are actually monochromatic paintings and highlights are commonly achieved by wiping away the pigment and revealing the white substrate. It this subtractive wiping technique that I used extensively in this painting to achieve the texture and look that I was going for. It was only after these red and subsequent violet layers were fry that I added deeper blacks and brighter white highlights to the image.

The image itself depicts an african woman, Andrea, who posed for me at an art gallery in Chicago. She had very lovely features and very beautiful deep skin. The way the light wrapped around her face from behind was quite nice. She wears a thoughtful, reflective expression, and her hand is wrapped around the back of her neck as if she is comforting herself from some paste memory.

The original piece is 9 inches by 12 inches oil painting ready to hang with an attached hanging wire. The prints do not come framed.