Seeing red
Red is one of those iconic colors. When I hear its name, I think of the particular shade that usually adorns stop signs. It’s hard for me to see red any other way.
When Ed, the subject of this portrait, revealed to me that red is his preferred color, I was immediately on my guard.
I know my tendencies when it comes to that color, and I wanted to be sure to avoid losing depth to an oversaturation.
In 2006, when I discovered that Marge’s favorite color was red, I ran with it.
In that case, the flat and imposing use of the color was purposeful: I was trying to suggest the sun exploding.
But, for Ed, I had no such motives.
Instead, I wanted to honor his color preference without letting it take over the composition.
I struggled with how to include the color at all, because Ed’s portrait was commissioned to be a match with his sister’s from four years ago, and that painting has no bright red in it.
I layered the fire engine red with its complement, a light teal.
I was arguing with myself in painted layers…
...and trying to figure out what worked for the painting.
It was at this point that I realized that the red simply was not right for the background.
I began to change the non-face elements of the composition drastically.
And, in one of those happy accidents that make every painting a voyage of discovery, I suddenly understood that fussing with the background had provided me with a golden opportunity where it came to the subject’s shirt.
I was able to layer on a subtler and more varied red precisely because I hadn’t intended to make the shirt red!
Gwenn Seemel
Ed
2009
acrylic on bird’s eye
24 x 20 inches
(detail below)
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CATEGORIES: - Process images - Practice -
(3) Comments / Commentaires: Seeing red
In agreement with my sister, I’d like to thank you for your creative work here! Thanks too for sharing the process with us.
Wow…. I love seeing your in progress. I learn so much. I think the most important lesson today was to keep going when it isn’t turning out just the way you want because a happy accident may lead to a gem like this.
Claire...
We just love this portrait! You have an amazing talent for capturing the personality of a subject, even when you have only spent a brief amount of time with him or her. We all recognized Ed immediately, and it is a wonderful complement painting to my portrait that you cited above. Thanks so much for this post, it’s always fascinating to see your process!!
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