There's something magical when you finish a piece

Maybe some of you remember one of the posts that I wrote some months ago about a big canvas that I was painting, a painting of two characters inpired by a wonderful photograph by Diane Arbus.

I love so much the works of this photographer, she's best knon for her pics of marginalized people, people like circus performes, giants or common people that other people perceived as ugly. With her camera, Diane gave us some portrait of them, simple b/w portraits of people who are not so common and thanks to this she aso gave as a surreal view of our perception about people. Great! 

She's a great source of inspiration for me and I think I'll work on other paintings inspired by her photos!

Even if I like to talk about Diane Arbus (I wrote a couple of posts about her some months ago), I was talking about my painting.

After some months I had not finished that painting. There was not reason, but I missed the "needed" to work on it. Sometimes it happens. 

In the time, I placed some different materials on the part of the wall where I hung the canvas and so, even if I perfectly knew that the canvas was waiting me, I worked on many different things.

Today, I don't know why, I feel the needed to work again on this painting. It was a very strong needed, without a certain reason! Sometimes it happens.

I seemed possessed by a "spirit of art" and I worked really hard for some hours. I felt myself like a brushes soaked with turpentine and oil colors. I was the brush, I was the Burnt Umber and the Payne's Grey, I was the chair that I used like a stepladder to paint at the bottom of the canvas, I was the canvas.  It was magical and finally I finished this artwork!

It's a mixed media painting (tempera and oil colors) on canvas. The size is about 125 x 170 cm (49"x 67" ), the bigger canvas that I've ever painted. For the canvas I used an unprimed cotton fabric that I prepared for the painting using some coats of gesso. 

I decided to paint it hanging the canvas on the wall because I could have an interesting effects on the texture of the background and so, when it will be dry, I have to install it building by myself the telaio (I don't know the right term in English, but telaio is the frame behind the finished painting that usually serve to stretch the canvas before to paint).

In the previous pics you can see the part of the lab where I worked, a wooden wall between the stairs for the bedroom and the door of the bathroom. The only part of the walls that is free from materials and so the only part that I could use for a big canvas ike this ^_^

When I'll frame it I'll take some pics to share with you, promise!

I hope you like it ^_^

See ya soon

Silvia