Warrior Princess, New Mask Painting in Process

I’ve been working on a new acrylic painting, Warrior Princess, inspired by a mask my daughter, Elya, made and a poem and post I wrote.

Far from finished, this painting has truly been a delight, as I explored contrasts of black and white and the use of bold colors, such as orange and red.

Here’s a few photos and tips of what I have done so far:

First, I printed out the photo, placed tracing paper between the photo and the canvas, and then traced the image onto the canvas.

Next, I used the photo on my computer to guide my attempts to capture the essence of the photo.

I tried to see shades and colors, hues and tones, instead of the photos obvious parts, such as an eye.Sometimes I rotated the image and canvas upside down to help me focus on shapes instead of my preconceived ideas of the image.