A fun exchange in emails between Christeen and me a while ago, turned into work in the end! Not that this wasn’t fun. Too much, I would say…I actually attempted three paintings! But it sure was difficult…I was very worried about not doing justice to her beauty and wonderful character. She assured me though it is about the process, and not the end result(for this time, I’ll believe it, although I would normally believe that the result does carry quite a bit of weight too!)
She also sent me a picture of her and her brother at four years, which I’ll attempt a bit later. By her own words, she now once again has the playfulness, enthusiasm and humor she had when she was four and that was what I tried to capture. I can see it so obviously in her face, but capturing it, is another thing. She has these amazingly long eyelashes behind which she carries the sparkles of mischief, a mouth full and round with humor, and hair, wild like a free roaming lioness. See Christeen’s excellent take on this!!…. as well as the original image here
So, here I give you Christeen…..in graphite on paper; then watercolor on Arches and last, oil on linen.
- shirley said…
- All absolutely wonderful! What a huge project….
- Christeen said…
- Ronell, you are one amazingly talented woman!! Holy smokes! These are awesome!
- Dave said…
- Ooh, these are all good. I think the graphite one is my favourite. No, perhaps it’s the oil. Although now I come to look at the watercolour again…
- caseytoussaint said…
- Wow, Ronell, these are great! My favorite is the oil – it ‘s so full of life.
- Lin said…
- RONELL! STUNNING! GORGEOUS! PHENOMENAL WORK! MERCY … THIS IS TRULY OUTSTANDING!
- Claudia said…
- I like the watercolour one the most! Wonderful work, all three are superb!
- Nina Johansson said…
- hese are just lovely! Incredibly good, you captured Christeen perfectly!
- martín said…
- Ronell, I absolutely agree with Christeen, you´re amanzingly talented!!! I can’t say I have a favourite, I can’t decide since I like the three of them very much. Each one has its own character. GREAT JOB!!!
- Sarah said…
- Amazing paintings – isn’t it interesting how the different media seem to emphasise different aspects – they’re all alive and vital, but the watercolour shows a more reflective person, the oil brings that hint of mischief out more and in the charcoal drawing she looks more curious, almost about to challenge someone (I should say – that’s how they look to me anyway)
- SCquiltaddict said…
- Ronell THese are just super…they got better and better as i scrolled down the page…cant decide WHICH is my favorite…they are all MAGNIFICIENT!!
- Cathy (Kate) Johnson said…
- Oh, Ronell, your charcoal is GORGEOUS, and so is Christeen!
- Cathy (Kate) Johnson said…
- Ooops, graphite! You did such a rich, deep job with it I just assumed it was charcoal!Read ALL the words, Kate…*G*
- Silvia said…
- All of the portraits are wonderful :), but I think I like the second one even best :))!
- Kristin Saegaert said…
- Wow! I think I like the graphite the best, but with your amazing talent it’s really hard to commit to that!!! Thanks for sharing your art with us!
- Shelly McC said…
- Stunning painting!
- Kay Cox said…
- Ronell, these are just beautiful. I aspire to be able to paint like you someday. Thank you so much for sharing your lovely work. Lucky Christeen!
- bec said…
- What a fun project! My favorite is the watercolor… nice play of light on the subject. Did Christeen draw you?
- Robin Neudorfer said…
- I love the graphite drawing. So spontaneous. What a fun project
- Nancy said…
- I love the graphite drawing and keep gong back to it (your model is beautiful by the way). I love to look at your site – I leave feeling inspired.
- Serena said…
- These are awesome! I think my favourite is the graphite. 🙂
- Africantapestry said…
- Thank you for all the comments -Sarah…thank you for being so observant..you’re spot on! I’m so glad you did see a littel of what I tried to do…see down below.Nancy: Yes I had a beautiful model to work with!Bec: and Christeen does have a snapshot of me, so when she has time, she’ll do one too.note: This was a very intimidating experience for me….doing a painting of someone you don’t know or haven’t met face to face, and in a weird sense is actually a friend(like you all would agree, I’m sure) and all you have to work with is a photograph – you haven’t seen some personal mannerisms, like how her mouth moves when she smiles, how she crinkles her nose, how she plays with a string of hair, how the light in her eye changes…anything that can give you an idea of something more than physical…. Normally I would’ve preferred to have Christeen’s face say something more than just displaying rendition, tell more of a story, but I didn’t feel confident enough to do that. Who knows, maybe our paths might cross and then I’ll redo these.
Ronell - Regula Scheifele said…
- So I’m going to chime in and say how much I admire your work and your courage as well… I couldn’t say which one I like the most, since they all have a different feeling to them, like showing different aspects of Christeen’s personality? – Would be interesting to know which one she thinks portrays her best?
- Ujwala said…
- all three are wonderful but the oil is my favourite 😛 sounds like a fun project and i hope we can see christeen’s work too.
- Tonniece said…
- OOOH, I LOVE THEM ALL RONELL, BUT I TRULY THINK THE GRAPHITE IS MY FAVE. I
- Sandy said…
- WOW – big WOW you are a master (bowing down before you)
- Robyn said…
- I love the graphite one, Ronell. it looks so spontaneous and very much from life. That, I find, is terribly difficult to achieve from a photo which usually lends itself to a more formal portrait. You are very clever – I’m so in awe of the oil too!
- Fanta said…
- I like the first one best, maybe because I love graphite, maybe because you truly did capture the child in her expression.
The last one truly looks like a lioness, even the twirls in the background resemble the presence of a lioness! Awesome! - platitudinal said…
- Truly amazing work. You’re not only attempting a likeness of her, but also her essence. That’s very difficult to capture, and yet you did. I think each medium emphasize more of certain characteristic, but all and all they’re all there. Superb job, Ronell.
- Carole said…
- Well done – these are stunning! It’s so interesting seeing them done in three different media, and noticing how each gives a different feel. My favourite has to be the oil painting because I am such a huge fan of your luscious way with oils. Oh, to be able to paint like that!
- Anonymous said…
- Hello I cant tell you how much your work has inspired me to practice daily and hope that someday I also will be able to turn out wonderful works of art. You are a wonderful artist and I thank-you for letting us see your work hear.
Linda - mARTa said…
- wow! how different they all are yet how smashing! Your blog is always a joy to the viewer!
- Renate said…
- Wonderful. They all have there own charm. I love the eyes from the graphite one, but my favorite is the one in oil.
- wagonized said…
- It is hard to tell which one strikes me the most — as each of them stresses something different about Christeen. Love her hair in the graphite one.
Thank you, Ronell, for your comments on my funk of the past few days. Your words, which i found on Suzanne’s blog, have stuck in my head ever since i read them. Yesterday, i just showed up at the page… 🙂 - Christeen said…
- I keep coming back to marvel at these. I’ve never seen a drawing or painting of myself before, and I enjoy them SO much!Your graphite drawing really captures how my hair feels to me- men have lost watches in it! It can be incridibly difficult to coerce into submission!I love the loose, fresh approach in the watercolor. You’ve made the light SO beautiful- I feel like I’m outside, just looking at it. I am also impressed with how you kept the line of my nosering thin and delicate in the midst of those wonderful washes of color. You’ve got my squint wonderfully.And the oil- wow. The brushstrokes are really lively. Thje background supports your lionine take on my hair, and suggests wind tossing it around (and it was VERY windy the day I took that shot). The colors are luscious. The colors you’ve used for my skin are particularly impressive to me.So, all that said, thank you SO much for applying your creative talents to this swap of photos! You’ve inspired and impressed me, and I’m so glad we gave it a try.
- andrea joseph’s sketchblog said…
- Great work Ronell – not just this post throughout your blog. These are great, I think I like the pencil one the best.
- aPugsLife-laserone said…
- These are really fantastic! You’re so talented. 😀
- E-J said…
- You’ve been so busy! You and Christeen have really taken this challenge by the horns. I think the oil is especially good.
- Linda said…
- These are all great! Christeen’s painting of you is wonderful, too — you two are cooking up some fun stuff! 🙂
- Anonymous said…
- Come across to your blog and loved it. I will return.http://tcores.blogspot.com
- janey said…
- These are great, I love the color and texture in the last one.
- Africantapestry said…
- Thank you for all the generous comments!
Ronell - phthaloblu said…
- What a grand project! I love the graphite the best, but that’s just me. All of them are simply superb.
Africantapestry 
