I Painted Geneva in the Bruising Sun

Detail of a portrait of Geneva

Why lie? In Texas we don’t have that nice, ambient light of the north. We have heat and intense sun that makes us squint, burns out the features on one side of our face, and cast the other side in shadow. It’s a biforcated life, for sure. We love the sun and the heat, and we hate it, too. It ’s affect is obvious on our faces, splitting them right down the middle.

This entry was written by Lavanna Martin, posted on April 9, 2009 at 2:20 pm, filed under alla prima, art, artist, commissioned painting, oil painting, portraiture and tagged canvas, oil, painting, portrait, Texas. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

12 Comments

terrepruitt

Posted April 9, 2009 at 2:25 pm | Permalink

I like this. I like the others too, but this one compelled me to comment. I was looking for the “like” button, like on Facebook.

Reply
- Lavanna Martin
  
  Posted April 9, 2009 at 5:26 pm | Permalink
  
  Hi, Terre.
  
  Yes, I believe they have that feature over at Blogpress.com. Comments are better, I think:)
  
  ~Lavanna
  
  Reply
Alexis

Posted April 9, 2009 at 3:15 pm | Permalink

Your work is on WordPress’s front page. I found the image compelling, so I stopped by your blog to say hello. It’s nice to find another artist on WordPress. I see you’re also on Twitter. I’ll follow you there too. Cheers.

Reply
- Lavanna Martin
  
  Posted April 9, 2009 at 5:23 pm | Permalink
  
  Hi, Alexis.
  
  Yes, that was awfully nice of the WP folks – I must have a fan!
  I’ll have to pop over and see your blog.
  
  ~Lavanna
  
  Reply
Alexis

Posted April 9, 2009 at 3:17 pm | Permalink

There are 15 Sherry Joneses on Twitter. What’s your Twitter username?

Reply
- Lavanna Martin
  
  Posted April 9, 2009 at 5:23 pm | Permalink
  
  Hi, Alexis.
  
  I’m lavannamartin on Twitter. 🙂
  
  Reply
taureandreams

Posted April 9, 2009 at 3:23 pm | Permalink

I really like your work, you have a way of conveying emotion that is hard to master. These days I write more than I paint, but I see your work and think I should get back on that horse too and try to straddle both mediums of expression. Thanks.

Reply
- Lavanna Martin
  
  Posted April 9, 2009 at 5:22 pm | Permalink
  
  Hi, taureanddreams.
  
  Thanks for looking. So, you do both writing and painting? Wonderful!
  
  ~Lavanna
  
  Reply
justwilliams

Posted April 11, 2009 at 4:46 pm | Permalink

I noticed your avatar change at Twitter and wondered why. I like this painting. Keep up the good work.

Reply
- Lavanna Martin
  
  Posted April 14, 2009 at 9:42 am | Permalink
  
  Hello, there!~
  
  We haven’t talked in a while.
  Glad to see you on Twitter.
  
  ~Lavanna
  
  Reply
Tom Ewing

Posted April 13, 2009 at 8:41 am | Permalink

I love your work and comments. Long time JC night school art hack. Work in quick ball point pen sketches/portraits/coffee shops/collage on large canvas etc–similar to your style of working a bit unobserved in public. I still struggle in painting-but I hope to some day get back to it. I especially appreciate your discussing your opinions/experiences/techniques. I learn from others.

Reply
- Lavanna Martin
  
  Posted April 14, 2009 at 9:41 am | Permalink
  
  Hi, Tom.
  
  Thanks for the nice comment. Yes, art is addictive, isn’t it?
  
  Ball point pen, yes! I love the effect. Moving to paint – is that difficult for you? Most good drawers struggle with the transition. I will try to talk about technique more – very busy right now!
  
  ~Lavanna
  
  Reply