Somber One

Somber One
8/365
Acrylic mixed media collage on panel
Prints are available here

I’m loving the lighter, brighter backgrounds I’ve been painting lately. I wasn’t sure if I was going to adjust well because for a long while, I used either black or dark gray paint for most of my portrait backgrounds. I still prefer dark backgrounds, and the moody tone, which goes so well with my paintings.

The problem was dark colors show every little speck of dust, and by “every” I mean hundreds of little white dust specks can be seen on a photo when you view it in Photoshop at 100%. Doesn’t matter how new or old the painting is, I can bring it directly to my photography table after painting a fresh background on it, and it will be covered. My camera lens is sensitive, and picks up every little thing. I would end up clicking on each of those little specks with the healing tool in PS to edit them out. I didn’t want my prints to look like they have dandruff. Most people order large prints, so it would definitely show up.

If you think that sounds like a lot of work, you’d be right! Sometimes, it would take me two or three hours to get one photo edited, and my finger would be aching from overuse of the mouse.

That’s why I’ve switched to brighter colors. Bright colors don’t show dust, so I can quickly edit a photo in five or ten minutes now. I’d much rather spend more time painting than killing my index finger in Photoshop.

I’m always looking for ways I can make my job easier, and this one little change has shaved hours off my work week. Gotta love that!!

This painting is one from the first or second day that I ended up wet sanding because I didn’t like it. I decided to keep working on it, and I’m so glad I did because now I love her. Her eyes are telling the whole story, are they not?