Painting of Cajun Dancers: Preview

Based on some photos I took at the French Quarter Festival I am doing a series of dancers moving to Les Freres Michot. These are three 16" x 20" canvases that I will attach together so the total will be 20" x 48". I will line up the backgrounds. The first step is the drawing. Then I fill in the basic background colors. This is the top image. More color variation will be added to the background but it will stay solid colors.

The next step is filling in the basic colors on the figures. The result is  a painting in the Alex Katz school as seen below. This will change a greta deal before the paintings are done. I will add shadows, texture in the fabric, highlghts, etc. The man's shirt will be white but with texture and shadows. You will see their shadows on the grass which will ground them on the surface. 

I plan to have them ready for the next the Arts Council of New Orleans monthy art market. These markets occur generally on the last Saturday at Palmer Park in New Orleans, at the corner of S. Carrolton and S. Claiborne. The next one is May 30. 

You can also purchase my paintings directly from me through the Web. I have shipped paintings as far as Australia. Contact me at [email protected] to discuss prices and logistics. 

 

Comments

[Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.]

Bill, I'm not clear on how you did this, Did you project a photo image and fill it in with paint or do freehand drawing, Works either way.
pt

[Bill Ives]

I drew free hand while looking at the photos. I also take photo of the work in progress and then compare it to the actual photo to see variations. However, I do not always stick to the exact photo. In fact I used several photos for one of the paintings above with a same man but with different dance partners to get the right stance for the three paintings. Also the woman in the middle has a hat and the primary female dancer did not have a hat so I looked at another dancer with a hat. I have seen other painters who are painting action subjects on the spot take photos to capture a certain moment, even if they are paintings while the action is going on. Then they look back at these photos while painting for a particular position. I have not tried this and always paint back in my studio from the photos. In the past I have painted models and still lives from the actual subject and I will do it again. I have just been focused more on action and places that are best captured at the moment since coming to New Orleans.