Stacy
Stacy
Meet Stacy!
Stacy is my neighbor from 15B. Stacy is a happy person, cheerful, earnest and expressive. She was very pleased to model for me, and we spend some time visiting, chatting and snapping pictures. She is an experienced model. We have another artist in our building, Michael, an art photographer – Stacy sat for him in the past, and so knew what to expect and what to do.
As a result I had a great selection of references: happy Stacy, posing Stacy, glamorous Stacy, Stacy being clever or amused or coy, she is such an actress – so many expressions. But this Stacy the Drama Queen is my favorite. Here Stacy is distressed over the state of Illinois politics. How do you choose between a thief, a liar and a clinically insane? – she asked me rhetorically. Tough choice indeed. When I brought this question to my husband, he chose a thief. Personally I prefer clinically insane, they all are just that to be in politics. But I am getting to be way too cynical here, and we have voted already anyway.
Stacy’s shirt deserves a word. Usually I am quite loose about drawing clothes in my portraits. I change colors and designs, inverse lights and darks, and use clothes to support what is going in the face without a second thought. Last week however we had a little discussion on WetCanvas about taking artistic license to sitter’s clothes. A little factoid came out: one of the very few commissioned portraits by Modigliani – the Amazon – was refused by the sitter, baroness Marguerite de Hasse de Villiers, not because of the “distorted” likeness, but because Modigliani painted her jacket yellow instead of red. I was so bewildered by this that I took pains to draw Stacy’s blouse exactly. The psychedelic pattern quickly cured me of my temporary insanity.
#27 of 40. Graphite, Moleskine Cahier sketchbook
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Oh my days – you’ve captured her concerned with the state of the nation expression beautifully – I can practically hear the conversation unfolding!!
Thanks, Nicola! This was an interesting expression to draw, a one that I haven’t tried before.
What a great drawing and a funny post. I must admit that I loved the portrait but my eye was drawn to the pattern on her shirt and I thought has Alex gone insane???? And then I laughed again at your comment that you would have voted for the clinically insane!
Amazing portrait.
Thank you, Carol! Yes, I have gone insane – temporarily :D! This pattern cured me however. Now I know I can do it and don’t have to do it again. Unless it is a paid portrait (I wish!) and the sitter is particular about the clothes.
Yep. Definitely the expression my cousin has when discussing Illinois politics! I would listen to my family members who lived in the Chicago area and others and now you. How does it still happen, because all of the people I know, from Illinois, feel the same as you and Stacy? How do they get to the position of running for office in the first place?
Excellent drawing. You challenge yourself each step of the way and it has become truly addictive to come here to see what you have added to your list of skills. Bravo, Alex…..! 🙂
Thank you, Leslie! I am not sure why these people end up running, possibly because you and I and Stacy choose not to. And then we the voters are stuck figuring out which one is less bad than the other.
Also thank you for mentioning challenges I invent for myself, a crazy person that I am. There is another one in the portrait I am working on right now – textured hair. We’ll see how it will come out…