This painting has been a long time coming. It has morphed and changed colours so often that if it was x-rayed by an art historian they would have to conclude that the painter couldn't make their mind up...oh yes...
The idea started as a whimsical self portrait - me and a tiger (I like tigers) wearing my new Parka (I love my Parka!) in a jungle (kind of along the lines of that famous Rousseau painting of a man in a black suit sitting on a tiger in a colourful jungle) So my first sketch was something like the one below....
The idea started as a whimsical self portrait - me and a tiger (I like tigers) wearing my new Parka (I love my Parka!) in a jungle (kind of along the lines of that famous Rousseau painting of a man in a black suit sitting on a tiger in a colourful jungle) So my first sketch was something like the one below....
Once I started painting, I decided my face wasn't very interesting! Our waitress Flick has got one of the best faces in the world, and I'd recently seen a photo of her as a child where she was staring at the camera in a slightly spooky way...so I decided to nick her face instead. Then I put her in an old fashioned nightie to match the slightly sinister look on her face.
Finally I was too lazy to paint an entire jungle scene and so set them in an old fashioned hallway. So far so good, except I couldn't decide on the best colour for the walls. They started off pea green (too dull) then went sky blue (too "Life of Pi" next to the tiger) and then blood red (too dark.) The long rug also gave me an ordeal...patterned or plain? and what colour? Eventually I phoned a friend who suggested I just keep the whole thing really minimalist and paint the walls and the rug magnolia! I tried it and it did seem to make the focus settle back on Flick and the tiger, rather that taking your eye off down the rug or onto the walls. Thank you Molly!
Next quandary was whether to adorn the walls and hallway with paintings, light fittings, plant stands etc. Again keeping it to a minimum seemed to work best. It was fun putting the paintings on the walks, the one on the left is Trebarwith Strand and on the right is Tintagel Church on the cliff...both places where Flick likes to walk.
So finally it's finished and Flick likes it. I'll be having some prints made so she can have them, if anyone else would be interested in a print, let me know x
Finally I was too lazy to paint an entire jungle scene and so set them in an old fashioned hallway. So far so good, except I couldn't decide on the best colour for the walls. They started off pea green (too dull) then went sky blue (too "Life of Pi" next to the tiger) and then blood red (too dark.) The long rug also gave me an ordeal...patterned or plain? and what colour? Eventually I phoned a friend who suggested I just keep the whole thing really minimalist and paint the walls and the rug magnolia! I tried it and it did seem to make the focus settle back on Flick and the tiger, rather that taking your eye off down the rug or onto the walls. Thank you Molly!
Next quandary was whether to adorn the walls and hallway with paintings, light fittings, plant stands etc. Again keeping it to a minimum seemed to work best. It was fun putting the paintings on the walks, the one on the left is Trebarwith Strand and on the right is Tintagel Church on the cliff...both places where Flick likes to walk.
So finally it's finished and Flick likes it. I'll be having some prints made so she can have them, if anyone else would be interested in a print, let me know x
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