Noh
Noh - SOLD
I borrowed this Venetian porcelain doll head from my art teacher. It made me think of Japanese mask theater. It took a while to come with a composition that made the idea clear. Finally, a little pink wild rose from a bush up my street did it. I am not much for painting flowers, but it was perfect.
I had a lot of trouble painting this still life. For the sake of experiment I did the underpainting in Prussian Blue. The thought of Michelangelo’s blue/green underpainting was on my mind. A mistake. Prussian Blue is such a cold tone. It took me the better of two weeks to warm this up. But oil is so forgiving. It let me warm up the parts I wanted warm and keep the vase cool and crisp. Then I struggled with the flower. As I said – flowers are not my thing, I didn’t even have pigments suitable for flowers. Trying to mix cool and hot pink based on Alizarin Crimson was a loosing battle. I had to go and buy quinacridone magenta, and then borrow a smidgen of quinacridone violet, and that did it. And what in world possessed me to choose the vase that has 9 ellipses? I must be a glutton for punishment. I tweaked and corrected the darned ellipses until the thought of switching to abstract painting style settled prominently in my head.
The moment when I finally painted my initials was a real victory.
6″ x 6″ (15 x 15 cm) oil on gessobord panel.
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I think the painting is wonderful and worth all the punishment you withstood.
Thank you, Balaji!
You have me smiling with your comment about the abstract approach. I have been trying some abstract with the rice paper collage and watercolor and spending more time and work on them. I love this painting. The coolness of that vase really accentuates the feeling I get from the stark mask. Think of the different feel of this painting if the flowers were wilting. Totally awesome composition and subject.
Abstract painting is not really in the cards for me, Leslie! 😀 I cannot bring my brain to produce abstract images, and admire you for being able to do that. I too thought of a different feeling a wilted flower would give, and waited a couple of days to see what my flower would look like when it turned its head down. But it didn’t wilt in a way that inspired me, so I went on painting a fresh one. Glad that you like the image.
Wow, what a talent! You amazed me every time I visit, love the mask facing up instead of positioning it to face forward. It gives it a little mystery or drama to this still life. Someone is going t be lucky to own this (wish it was me).
Ryan, you are too kind! I too immediately saw how unusual the upside-down head looks, and never even tried it the right side up in the composition. The painting is still available… I’m just saying… 😉
I am probably going to show it in my local gallery in September.
Uh oh, it’s official. I’ve lost it. I SWEAR I commented on this blog when you first posted it. When I first saw your Noh painting, I thought I was in a classical art gallery at the Metropolitan Museum.
The composition is quite interesting, as Ryan noted, with the mask facing upwards. I adore the finish on the vase, mask and table. You’ve taken oil and made it your own.
It is hard to consistently follow up on all blogging updates and still say something that is personal and makes sense. When I post something new and there isn’t a note from you in a couple of days I begin to worry if everything is OK. You’ve been that consistent for really a long time. This week however you have all excuses one can possibly want – an earthquake, a hurricane, a flood, not quite locusts yet, but if you throw in “the dog ate my homework” no-one will doubt it :)!
I am glad you liked the painting, Carol. Be safe!
Hi Alex, thanks, we survived all the natural disasters this week with only some minor basement flooding and a little roof damage. Not bad compared to folks in NJ, LI and update NY, CT, and Vermont!
[…] painting was in the works seemingly forever. I painted Noh back in 2011, I think. Ever since then I’ve been looking for doll heads to paint more of […]