Driftwood Series: Mona Lisa- Final Painting
Mona Lisa- Richard Matteson; C 2009
Here's the final painting. I took some of the blue out but in the camera shot it's still there. When you look at the painting by eye the blue is barely visible...strange. The total time it took was around 12 hours. The result- mixed. I was happy that I created a fitting tribute to Leonardo's masterpiece. I'll try and get a good image of the painting- my photography skills are limited. I know the blue will be barely visible.
The original idea was that a slab of driftwood grain could look like the Mona Lisa- crazy I know. I could have done it different ways. You can look back through the steps I took to get the result I did in the last five blogs.
Things I like about my painting are:
1) I created a setting similar to Leonardo's original painting which had "loggia" (columns on each side that bordered the portrait). You can still see the columns that form an arch over Mona Lisa's head, I also included more of the bottom.
2) She's sitting in a chair which can clearly be seen.
3) Her hands and face, even though obscured slightly are still powerful parts of the picture. The eyes and the smile are effective.
4) The yellowish orange contrasts with the blue underpainting.
5) Changing her into driftwood makes her seem like she's staring through a barbed-wire fence, a prisoner caught in time. It's striking and effective, even though I'd like to take the painting further I'd lose most of the underpainting which is more important than detailing the wood grain further.
6) The painting fits the color and texture of old tobacco frame made by my friend Chris Hoke.
Comments are welcome!