To all the fathers out there, a very Happy Father's Day. For the occasion, I am posting a special painting that is a tribute to my father who is always there for me. I gave it the title "Generations", as it also included one of my grandfathers.
The painting is based on an old photo from the mid 1960's (1965 or 1966) which was taken at a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in the city of Tyre in Lebanon. My aunt's house was built at the breakwater and I remember standing there for hours looking and listening to the waves crashing at the foundation walls below.
The painting started with a black-painted canvas, over which a chalk and oil pastel preliminary sketch was done highlighting the main memorable elements of the scene (blue wooden shutters, wooden caned chairs, and the essential balcony tables); and the characters (I am the child in the foreground with my dad; at the red table is a great uncle; and at the far end is my maternal grandfather).
The question at this stage was whether to go with solid colours for the elements and characters or to change direction. Although I liked the photograph's brightness, I was also attracted to the darker mood of the work at this stage.
The other question was what to do with the faces.
I was fond of the way they looked now, but wasn't sure yet.
At this stage I let go of the painting for a few days during which I would look at it and try to visualize what it may end up being like (something I tend to do with a lot of my work and which I really value in the creative process).
The end result almost resembles the image at the left in which I tried to brighten the colours and hint to some of the light in the original photograph.
In the faces I used the colours from my memories of that time and place and in the father/son faces as a symbol of the bond and the continuation of the "Generation".
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
The question at this stage was whether to go with solid colours for the elements and characters or to change direction. Although I liked the photograph's brightness, I was also attracted to the darker mood of the work at this stage.
I was fond of the way they looked now, but wasn't sure yet.
At this stage I let go of the painting for a few days during which I would look at it and try to visualize what it may end up being like (something I tend to do with a lot of my work and which I really value in the creative process).
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| Generations |
In the faces I used the colours from my memories of that time and place and in the father/son faces as a symbol of the bond and the continuation of the "Generation".
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
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