Would this photo make a good painting?

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@CaveMike

I’ve got to ‘third’ the boaty watercolor. I intended to just lurk in this thread, but that work caught my attention enough to mention it.

Thanks again!

That’s definitely a project I’m going to develop.

As I said, I almost sold it. The paint wasn’t yet dry, and I decided to go for a swim. A cute little old man was walking by and he stopped to look at it. I got out of the water to talk to him, and he asked me how much I wanted for it. As it turns out, he was on a fixed income, and complained that the place was “for rich people”, and he didn’t have his wife’s permission to spend money anyway. I couldn’t take his money.

[tdn]

@eleanorigby

That girl is not 8–I’d say she was 12 at least. She is very tall and has that middle school look about her.

I think it’s her dress that is ruining the line of her back–or she has health problems!

I don’t see this as a watercolor at all–in a weird way it reminds me of that Renoir that the glass man obsessively painted in the movie Amelie. I like the crowd of people, jammed in and watching the carousel. I would make the child younger than she is (unless you want a Wyeth-esque underlying creepiness), and change her clothes. There is so much energy in the lights, the movement, the crowd–watercolor is too staid and restful to do the pic justice, IMO.

Not 12, I’m sure. Maybe 10.

At any rate, this photo is just an exercise in composition, not a real project that I’m going to do anytime soon. Last night I embarked on a real (maybe) project – a self-portrait. Therein lies a real challenge! So disparage not the hunched back. Bad posture is beautiful, baby!

And don’t underestimate the power of watercolor. Just because what you most often see is watery, pastelly pastoral scenes, that doesn’t mean that bold action paintings aren’t possible. I’ve seen some pretty dynamic paintings!