"Sistery Ties" on the easel
Figurative Abstracts
Commissioned
Sisterly Ties One
Acrylic on 10" x 10" x 3/4" wrap canvas
Commissioned
Sisterly Ties Two
Acrylic on 10" x 10" x 3/4" wrap canvas
Commissioned
My husband is so laughing at me, because one of my goals for this year was to phase out small abstracts. Concentrating more on the large abstracts. Well, here I went and joined the 30 paintings in 30 days challenged last month and to make it more manageable for myself, I painted a lot of small abstracts. It was also a good time to try something new. Figurative abstracts had been something that I had dabbled in a little with the "Pool Side Series", but after 4-5 paintings had dropped it. So not exactly new, new…but was something I wanted to continue…
It has turned out to be a natural for me and really not to far from abstract expressionism. It is really another emotional form of painting in which it is more about picking up the feeling or movement of the subject than creating a realistic depiction. Yet, there is just enough realism to connect with. This new style has turned out to be very well received and I have been busy painting several more since last month. So, here I am painting more of the small abstracts!
This was a special commission and one that is meant to be a gift to two sisters who share similar ties. I was contacted by their mother who was a regular follower of my daughters' Elsie and Emma's blog, A Beautiful Mess. On their blog she had seen one of the paintings I had done for the January Challenge titled "Sisters". She fell in love with the painting as it was a reminder to her of her own daughters and 'sisters' with a unique bond. She asked if I would be willing to create a figurative abstract from a photograph that had appeared in a local magazine article of her daughters ….and would I do 'two paintings' as they would be a gift to each sister.
The gift would be given as a celebration for this years fifth anniversary. The older sister is a recipient of a kidney donation from the younger sister. Each year in May, there mother has given them a gift. It was all the information I was given. Since having completed the paintings I have been given more information and totally admire the courage that these sisters have had. I've been told that "Sisterly Ties One" totally captures the personalities of these two daughters/sisters.
Approaches to painting can vary, at least for me. I wanted to keep the feeling consistent for each painting and so they were painted side by side back and forth. They paintings are obviously alike in many ways but yet there are elements from each one that I prefer and so in that respect I feel they turned out with a good balance of likeness. What spoke the most for me was painting the area around there shoulders. In the photograph the sister on the right has her arm wrapped around the other. I couldn't get this to work and so their ended up being more of a merge occurring. Frustration set in at first, but then I realized it was a part of the flow of the painting as it was a perfect illustration of their closeness. Knowing more now, it will be interesting to learn which painting each sister chooses.
Sisters… share so much. Sure there are the occasional disagreements, but the love between them overcomes.
To commission your figurative abstract email me: elizabethchapman@artlvoer.com
A full portfolio of my abstract paintings can be viewed and purchased from: HERE
Elizabeth Chapman
Contemporary Abstract Artist
The gift would be given as a celebration for this years fifth anniversary. The older sister is a recipient of a kidney donation from the younger sister. Each year in May, there mother has given them a gift. It was all the information I was given. Since having completed the paintings I have been given more information and totally admire the courage that these sisters have had. I've been told that "Sisterly Ties One" totally captures the personalities of these two daughters/sisters.
Approaches to painting can vary, at least for me. I wanted to keep the feeling consistent for each painting and so they were painted side by side back and forth. They paintings are obviously alike in many ways but yet there are elements from each one that I prefer and so in that respect I feel they turned out with a good balance of likeness. What spoke the most for me was painting the area around there shoulders. In the photograph the sister on the right has her arm wrapped around the other. I couldn't get this to work and so their ended up being more of a merge occurring. Frustration set in at first, but then I realized it was a part of the flow of the painting as it was a perfect illustration of their closeness. Knowing more now, it will be interesting to learn which painting each sister chooses.
Sisters… share so much. Sure there are the occasional disagreements, but the love between them overcomes.
To commission your figurative abstract email me: elizabethchapman@artlvoer.com
A full portfolio of my abstract paintings can be viewed and purchased from: HERE
Elizabeth Chapman
Contemporary Abstract Artist
1 comment:
Thank you for telling their story, Elizabeth! They will be telling all of their friends that they're FAMOUS now! (-:
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