Yo Dog...Check It Out (Volume 2)

Yo Dog. Pay close attention because we're going to be moving pretty quickly. We previously left off with this:



Then we added some color. Here's a tip. If we know that Maria's veil is going to end up being red (which, I can assure you, we do), then throw some red around other parts of the painting. The actual coloring is red and black, laid over the previous blue...



And now we're adding a belt of black (which, as discussed, will eventually be red) to serve as the background for the veil.



If you look now, you can see how the general shape of the thing is going to turn out. I like the biomorphic (but not necessarily anatomically correct), asymetrical shape of the veiled head with the arch behind it. It feels very 14th Century, but also hip and modern, like Blake Lewis singing Mack the Knife.

It also reminds me a little of Munch. Not Art Monk, the Redskins' now-retired, all-star wide receiver. But Edvard Munch. The Scream. All that angst. You're familiar.

Okay, moving on. And now, I'm here to tell you, it's getting interesting. I am pleased with the way the lettering came out--I went with Helvetica Bold, roughly--although I'll need to repaint the letters with another coat to get maximum irridescence.



Also, it became clear to me that the white background on the arch was never going to work. So we added some yellow and orange. Much nicer. Kind of stained-glassy. Luminescent.

Yo Dog... check it out: Here's the first take on the face.



And here's an update. Note the patch of blue next to her neck. When the veil ends up red, this is going to just look fabulous.



Man, those are some creepy eyes! Don't, however, get in a big lather. I understand that, as well as things are obviously going, the one salient problem is that Big Maria doesn't look much like the actual Big Maria. In fact, she kind of reminds me of the Les Miserables poster girl.



Hey! You think this is easy? Oddly enough, the previously much-talked-about upper lip and flume seem like the best parts of the damned thing right now...



But I'll promise you this: By the time I get everything else right (or as right as I can get it), I will have screwed up her mouth. It will remain a point of contention throughout the progression of the painting.

Additionally, under the "Don't Get In a Lather" category, I would remind you that Blue Stephanie, as beautifully as she turned out, at one point looked like this:



So I would advise you to keep your pants on, although when this picture was taken, I wasn't wearing any.