Yet another Madrid subway portrait

"Young Subway Reader" · oil on paper ·

47.5 x 35.5 cm 

Dustbowl dance musicians, Oklahoma 1940

Dustbowl dance musicians,  Oklahoma 1940

Oil on Masonite

46 x 55 cm

More Madrid subway work

Mature brunette subway rider

Oil on Masonite

55 x 46 cm

Faces

Weeping Soldier

40 x 40 cm  · oil on canvas

Woman in Garden

81 x 65 cm  · oil on canvas

Boy

38 x 46 cm  · oil on canvas

Calvados Drinkers

46 x 55cm  · oil on Masonite

Woman's Head

47.5 x 35.5 cm  · oil on paper

Three Victorian Girls

73 x 60 cm  · oil on canvas

Midsummer Reader

65 x 65 cm  · oil on canvas

Woman Recumbent I

65 x 92 cm  · oil on canvas

Tenor Man

33 x 44.5 cm  · oil on canvas

More of life on the Madrid subway

Here are two more paintings from the Madrid subway series, accompanied by the photographs and, in the first case, the watercolor studies that preceded the final oil painting. I'll start with the candid photograph of a woman reading a book--a frequent activity on the subway. The anonymous subject didn't notice my intrusion with the camera, even though I used a flash:

I used the photograph to make two preliminary studies in watercolor. My purpose here was by no means to make beautiful, finished watercolors; they were merely a way to get acquainted with the subject, her posture, the complexities of her hands, the proportions of her head and, in the second, more spontaneous study, to begin to identify a palette.

In the first study (above), the emphasis was on realistic drawing and color. I drew in the contours of the figure with a 4B pencil and then added color.

The watercolor above reflects my search for an earthy palette for the figure, dominated by reds and browns. I did not use the pencil here, just straight watercolor--alla prima.

The resulting oil painting was also done alla prima (meaning no previous drawing with charcoal or other media on the canvas--just straight paint). I suppose my palette here doesn't reflect the second watercolor. As often happens in my paintings, it involves the use of complementary colors: red versus green, blue versus orange. As intense as the colors are, those complementary colors give the palette balance. My use of color shows the influence of German Expressionist painters who worked between the two World Wars: members of Die Brücke such as Karl Rottluff-Schmidt (http://www.yasni.de/karl+rottluff/person+information), among others.

The last oil painting, which wasn't preceded by any studies--the simpler subject didn't seem to require them--was also done alla prima:

 The painting above was based on the figure seated on the right in the following photo:

Life on the Madrid Subway II

Recently I took a step beyond drawing subway riders to photographing them unobtrusively. When I was able to make some candid photos of unwitting models one day, I decided to make a series of oil paintings in which I would interpret the photos. The first of these shows a Japanese woman snoozing in her seat. I decided to convert her image into a mask portrait. Based her photo, I made a watercolor study to establish the color scheme. Then I painted the mask in oil on Masonite. Here are the photo, the watercolor and the painting:

Life on the Madrid Subway I

While eating in restaurants, sitting on park benches, on buses and subway cars, I draw. I find all human faces interesting, and I draw the ones I can capture without bothering the subject. Often the subjects never catch on; they're unwitting models. I have to work fast, because even a person who is absorbed by a book, newspaper or cell phone game will often move, and I never know when my models are about to reach their stop and get off. I carry a small drawing pad. Sometimes I use an array of felt tip pens of different shades of gray, sometimes I use a 4B  pencil.......: