Concertgoers

» Posted by Lesley Spanos on Jun 25, 2009 in Acrylics, Available, People, Step-by-step | 2 comments

"Concertgoers" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic on paper, 7 x 11". Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved.

When I saw this beautiful couple at the opening concert of the Symphony On The Prairie season, I knew I had to paint them. In honor of the Grateful Dead theme that night, he wore tie-dye, while she had a ’60s vibe going. Her loose, flowing pants were a colorful floral print (which I didn’t dare attempt in paint). There was color everywhere, yet it all coordinated somehow.

Here are some shots taken along the way:

The drawing done in light grey pen.

Starting to add some transparent color. At this stage I had no idea where I’m going with this one. My light grey lines were already starting to disappear under the paint, so I reinforced them with strokes of red. Cool.

I wondered if I could leave it just like this… but decided to forge on.

I tried to keep as much of the green undertones exposed as possible. For example, the green on his cheek is entirely the green of the underpainting.

The blanket had tons of pattern and color, but I needed to simplify it so it wouldn’t attract all the attention.

Finished!

Here are some detail shots:

My flesh tones usually suck, so I challenged myself to keep the flesh tones fresh and reflective while using a minimum of detail. I reminded myself to use lots of green:

Loved the colors in the chair: