This is a sketch of Frida Kahlo. My plan for the next year is to create a series of textile collages to honor famous women from history.
When I first dreamed up the idea for this series, Frida was the first woman who came to mind. Frida's sense of color, love of bright textiles, bold geometric jewelry, delicate floral headpieces, pride in natural beauty, and struggle to create despite pain resonate with me.
When I created LHOOQ, I started with a full scale collage, building as I went along. With this piece I decided to do a sketch first with pencil and sharpie. Then I added watercolor and gouache to plan the color.
When I think of Frida I imagine bright magenta flowers in her hair, and waxy emerald leaves in the background like she included in her painting: Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. My hope is that the richness of the colors in this piece reflects the brilliance of her style. The complementary colors of red and green should shine beautifully next to each other.
When I initially painted this, I started with a pale yellow base on her skin. As I added the magenta and green, I realized that there was too much going on with the palette of this piece. So, I kept going and added an array of light pinks to cover those yellow highlights. In my opinion, editing out the yellow to emphasize the reds and greens simplifies the look. Like writing, sometimes what you leave out is as important as the things you choose to include.
I painted this in my sketchbook. As an artist I have a lot of ideas that rise quickly out of the darkness and burst into my mind like bright fireworks. The ideas and images flash into my imagination quickly and hang in my mind like a flare. During the brightness of the imaginative flare, I like to document it in my sketchbooks.
Sketchbooks are a big part of my creative process. As I share more of my process with new work, I hope to share my sketchbooks past and present here on my blog. I hope you enjoy!
Image by Suzanah Furtick
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