07 November, 2005

back to the drawing board



I have been working on this image today (apart from my morning writing) and although I am not quite happy with it and will definetely have another go at it tomorrow I am publishing it here anyway. I am looking and looking at it and at the moment I am not sure why I don't think it is good enough for my portfolio...it might be the colours or it might be the composition...This is the funny thing that happens when you are working on something for hours...you lose perspective, at least this is what happens to me.

I had been looking at japanese prints over the weekend mainly looking at the colours, but I guess I haven't looked at them enough...I'll finish the cooking (chicken with rice) and open the books again and see if I can get some renewed inspiration...I hate it when things don't work out as expected, but I have learned over the years to accept it as a part of the process.

6 comments:

Gail said...

I love it Maya!

If there is one tiny thing that bothers me it would have to be the green you've used on the path, but even that is minor and probably a presonal thing. I'd love to see it original size. :)

Gretel said...

I love the ladies and the trees...and I know what Gail means about the green path. I think...it's the composition that niggles me. Because you've got the bird's head just appearing on the green dress and further down this is repeated by the tree just appearing on the path...so you've got a visual repetition - my eye is following that fruit tree, the bird and the green lady, and everything else just fades away. If this were mine (I wish!) I would be tempted to chop the bottom off - all the fruit trees, get rid of the path and the bird in the corner and have it as a simple horizontal picture. Oh, I am being brutal today! >;-)

Maya said...

no...no...not brutal at all!!
I can see what you mean, absolutely and you are right. That green path is all wrong, the bottom greens are way too dark, and it does work better if I just keep the upper part of the illo...
I am going to have another go at it though, as I have this image in my head of a garden of orange trees, so I hope I can make it work second time around! Thank you both for your very helpful comments. :)

Gail said...

As long as you did see it as helpful, which is how my comments were meant ;).

I can see what pg means too about cropping, I think that would make a big difference. I wouldn't scrap it though as I think it has loads of potential

Gretel said...

oh gosh yes, for heavens sake, there's a beautiful picture in there. You must get those orange tree out of your system though...I had a fixation once with ornamental box trees...

lorna said...

oooo... it is beautiful. Maya- your work is always an absolute delight to behold.

I like the format (and can see how it would work more rectangular too), I would just move the path over to the left hand third-underneath the left tree- that way your eye is lead up to the tree and dances on the geisha, catches the right hand tree and goes back in a loop.

I do love how you draw trees- they remind me a little of Jane Ray's trees and birds and with much more appealing people to boot! :o)