[Lorraine Pester]

I was trying to use a Chinese brush painting technique with this portrait.

[Steve Bucknell]

Lorraine,

I like this. I like its simplicity, its the suggestion of volumes, and the criss-cross forms and rhythm it conveys. It does make me think of a delicate kind of Japanese, Chinese inked brushwork. It seems to go with your Moth Orchid poem in an understated way.

Steve.

[Janice D. Soderling]

Very suggestive. I can envision an exhibit of this and similar works where all the viewers are arguing about what they see.

Impressive.

[Lorraine Pester]

Steve and Janice,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. I name all my pieces, and this one was named with the name of the person I saw in it; however, I'm learning not to lead the viewer too much with my own interpretation. I'm glad you both like it.

This is another one of my abstractions on a photograph of a plant.

Lorraine

[Ann Drysdale]

I'm sorry, Lorraine - it's my stupid literal acceptance again. I though you meant (elsewhere in the forum) that you had been tempted to try Chinese brushwork, with real ink and a real brush.

[Lorraine Pester]

Originally Posted by Ann Drysdale

I'm sorry, Lorraine - it's my stupid literal acceptance again. I though you meant (elsewhere in the forum) that you had been tempted to try Chinese brushwork, with real ink and a real brush.

Ann,
Yes, I am trying Chinese brushwork. But this piece was done more than a year ago, in a subtractive method that I developed to simulate Chinese brushwork. I will make it clearer when I post which method(real or modified photograph)I've used. It's never my intent to make anyone look ______.

Lorraine

[Susan Breeding]

Wow, this has got to be one of the best works of art I've seen in yonks.

The face itself is so suggestive to me of other faces I could name but won't. It appears that you did have a particular face in mind, and it does resonate that way for me also. Though one famous face came to mind immediately, I have also let my mind roam over other possibilities....

But the spaces between the shades, and the forms of the shaded areas themselves are also suggestive. Wasn't it Mozart who said the music was in the spaces?

I guess I did know a Chinese brush could be evocative, but yours is both evocative and mesmerizing, approaching an optical illusion in its subtle suggestions and connections.

Thank you,
Sue

[ross hamilton hill]

It reminds me of Dali's technique of splitting up the image, also the Japanese ink painting is very good.

[Jake Sheff]

I like the texture and movement of the strokes, especially on the bottom half of the image. The emergence of a face I'm not sure about yet - certainly I'm drawn more to the bottom half of the painting. There are more shades and textures down there for my eyes to explore. The strokes on the top half seem a lot more solid black and two-dimension compared to the richer bottom half. But I don't think much more is needed for this piece to be pleasing to view - the black and white, the brushstrokes and ink all create a marvelous image.

Jake