[Lunatique]

I've wanted to do a formal life portrait digitally for a while now, and here's the result. The painting was split between two sessions (first session on a Sunday, second session six days later on a Saturday). I fudged with the painting a bit after the life sessions to "harmonize" it, since some of my color choices were a bit unorganized and chaotic from the life sessions. I had three motivations for doing this portrait: 1) I always wanted to do a formal portrait of my wife in that classic style. 2) I've wanted to try a life portrait digitally--as I wanted to see if it was much different from doing it traditionally. 3) I was sick and tired of seeing painted over photos. I wanted to do something that was my private act of protesting against these "fake digital Sargents" as Spooge once put it.

Painting a life portrait digitally was definitely easier than painting one traditionally. So much time is saved when you don't have to change/wash brushes or deal with the physical complications of real paint. A traditional life portrait would've taken me probably three times as long to paint.

Originally, I wanted to paint something bold and impressionistic, but as the sessions went on, I realized my sensibility is not quite there yet--I'm still too chicken shit to throw all caution into the wind. I did make a conscious effort to allow my brush work to stay loose, suppressing the urge to blend away the brush marks. But the battle rages on--I still have to much to learn and need to work harder at being spontaneous.

[Spooky]

Nice work as always. Very nice blends. Hope all is well over there in Malaysia.
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[-HoodZ-]

nice strokes luna

[Tomasis]

looks good

but try work on eyes even 1000 times

thats eyes which disturb most me.. try capture her personality and show it at natural way..

[eyewoo]

Nice portrait. Very smooth and formal looking... I like the way you've handled the light in it.
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[kimchi]

You my friend, are a god among men. Absolutely stunning. I hope you don't take this as an insult, but I feel you truly excel in portraiture. I definitely feel it is your strongest subject matter by a long shot.

Anyway, fucking stupendous.

[Reakshun]

this is tight and your wife is BEAUTIFUL!

But, hey,...wait a minute...I DON'T SEE A RING! I'M GOING TO MALAYSIA!

just kidding!

[Cicinimo]

Those hands are beautifully painted, and the face is just beautiful in general.
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[DEVARSHY]

Kudos to you.

Its when i look at artists like you that I start to believe that one day we might be able to gain same respect for digital Art in this big bad world of Art....just as much as the traditional mediums command.
I mean when you go out to a real gallery or dealer with your art and they dont throw you out just after hearing the word "digital".

Maybe one day.Keep at it Mr Chang, You are the light, Sir.
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[Kamal]

I just love your work!

[Lunatique]

Thanks for the comments.

I consider this painting a failure, because I did not achieve what I set out to do. I'll just have to keep trying--one step at a time.

The truth is, I don't paint enough. I've already made the transition to writer/director in my career, and I spend most of my time doing that. On weekends and after work, I have stronger urge to compose music than I do for painting, but I keep thinking that as an artist, where I'm at is pretty embarrassing for a 31 year-old. I want to get better, but I'm tempted by other things I enjoy doing more (writing, music..etc). So, it's kinda hard to improve when you don't spend the time. Such is my dilemma.

[Malachi Maloney]

That's kinda funny Luna, I remember you and I having that same conversation a while ago in some chatroom thingy. I distinctly remember you saying that art never moved you like music and film does. And for that reason alone you shouldn't consider any of the art work you do a "failure". With all the irons you've got in fire with other interests, that you even find the time at all to work on illustration is something to be commended.

All I do is paint/draw, I don't play music, I'm not trying to make an animated short, etc., etc., and sometimes I don't even find the time to paint anything for myself or for the sake of experimentation after working on other folk's stuff all week. And it's all I do. Shit man, now that I'm writing this, it makes me feel like a lazy bastard that you're making free time to paint and I'm not... Why must we need sleep?! Can't there be 40 hours in a day?! Why lord, why?! Ok, anyways...

I think the painting looks great. Very soft and smooth without looking very "plastic". I still think you need to work on your cloth rendering a little more, but that's my only crit on this one. I also really dig her lips/mouth, very supple and glossy (just the way I like em ).

Great work over all dude.


Malachi
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[idiran]

Great work. Gotta admire the brush strokes, totally sweet.
Just a thought, the pic would look even more awesome with something
green in the background, like a plant throwing subtle shadows on the wall...
but it's good enough as it is. I wish I could do that from life.

[eyewoo]

Luna... In your 30s and thinking you are a failure... Hey, my man, I'm well into my 60s
and have always just experimented with this medium and that medium - photography, film,
audio, music, metal welding, fiber glass, traditional paint of all kinds. I always made
my living doing something else so that I wouldn't get trapped into a specific area of
creative energy... but, now, in my 60s I have decided it's about time to start wrapping
it all up. Now, if I can't get it together, I'll consider myself a failure ...

It sounds to me like you are also experimenting with various creative energies. Seems
to me as long as that is upper most, nothing you do can be called a failure - that's
the irony, because it is all learning and preparing... pushing too far one way and not
enough the other way, seeking the eventual solid symbiotic ground on which your true
creative energy will emerge... woof... that sounds just a bit to much, but... I do mean it.
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[Lunatique]

Malachi - Oh yeah, if there's a drug that can hold off sleep indefinitely, guess what I'll be spending my money on?

I sometimes feel that I'm stretching myself way too thin. If I keep going at this rate, I'll never truly excel and improve in anything I do. But I'm not content with doing just one thing. I love being able to jump around and be creative in other ways, and I've been doing that since I was 13. Sometimes I think that film will be it, since it combines so many creative disciplines--but as a director, you really don't have time to do much else. For example, I would love to compose the score for Promise, but I just know when the time comes, I'll be so busy that someone else would have to compose the score (and I'm not good enough of a composer to pull off the style that I want anyway). There are all-around filmmakers that write/direct/act/compose/photograph their films, but they are extremely rare. Maybe if I try really hard, I can be one of them. But then the question is why, other than satisfying your own thirst to create, chances are other people can probably do a better job at various aspects of your film.

I dunno. I'm kind of tired these days with so much going on. I can't seem to force myelf to rest at home either--I have to be creating something. It's like I'm pushing myself into a total burnout. I think it's because I keep feeling that I should be much better, smarter, wiser, more creative, more talented, harder working...etc. Where I imagined I'd be at my age when I was a teenager, is lighyears beyond where I am now. I'm ashamed and embarrassed by my slow development. That is why I don't rest and keep pushing myself. Days like this, I just want to run off to a remote island with a laptop and write my novels. (You see that? Even on a remote island I still can't fucking rest.)

eyewoo - Yeah, I get ya, but isn't it frustrating to not have one true calling that jumps out at you and gives you the comfort that you only need to do that one thing and be satisfied? I have a feeling that eventually, I'll settle on writing (music could've been a choice if I was trained classically. But it's an impossibility in my circumstances. I could never go back to being a child and start music lessons early, or attend a school like Juilliard), as it makes a direct connection to my thoughts and emotions in ways that drawing/painting would never be able to. Even the process of filmmaking feels too much like "production" instead of emotional outlet.

[makototaramoto]

sounds like your stuck in a pretty bad situation mr.luna. In order to prevent a burnout maybe a simple getaway just you, (maybe the notebook but thats it) I think that it is very frustrating not knowing which 'road' is your 'road' but to say you never had a true calling is to say that all the others were false merely ment for another person. Which i hope you dont believe ...if you feel that your emotions can only be released through music then you simply must do music...for fame...for mastery of a field...or simply just to do and just to release? Things that i noticed the most are I'm

[DEVARSHY]

I can relate with the way you feel Mr.Chang.
I myself seem to be in a similar boat.when you look around the world....all its talent in al the different creative fields and realize your own potential... and some voice inside says ...Yes I can do that too! and maybe better than what I see...if I push myself harder Enough... thats the problem.

Ive been a fashion designer, A stylist... then I had too many Ideas for product design so I moved on to that... Interactive Design and computers caught my fancy along the way...and I became an Interactive designer... But soon I realised I cant be haggling with design Illiterate clients all my life while My life's passing away all in front of a computer monitor... so Art was my next calling.(I lecture on Design, Art and Fashion too.)
I think for people like this... it really doesn't matter what they do... with their creative urges... as long as they do something with it.

Now Ive come to realise that doing just one thing and sticking to just one field will be very limiting for me as an individual....The hunger to learn and create and the numerous Ideas for everything are just too overwhelming. I'll constantly keep evolving all my life and keep exploring all that is offered to me as a creative person.

If feels good to know that there are more people like that.I'm 26 and I feel Im too old already.

anyway for more... catch thisSpecialist or generalist Discussion
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