Oil Painting Blog

Blog about oil paintings by Robert Dawson

Beggarbot, complete

For now, at least.

The simplest solution for turning her into a cyborg or robot was to make one eye shine, as if beaming with light from within. I thought of this today, after I had already cleaned my brushes, when I remembered that Picasso had done the same thing to symbolize the gift of prophesy. I like that the indication is subtle. And I decided to leave the bowl in her hand as a bowl and not some electronic device or something else that a robot might hold because, in the future, robots might consume human food. So this makes the question of feeding a starving robot all the more interesting and provocative.

Homage to Coffee

The composition is a bit unsettling but the overall painting is decent for an afternoon.

 

Step 1: Outline and block in composition

Step 2: Add darkest darks and detail to test effect 

Step 3: Continue detail of all objects

Step 4: Add background

This procedure may not be viewed as mature, as working in a general to specific manner is quicker and much less stressful with regard to proportions. However, experimenting with the process is fun and I like how this turned out.