"Orgullosa" started out that way. (Orgullosa means "haughty" or "prideful.") The process used the polyester "spider webs" and dropped on, brushed on, dripped and splattered liquid watercolors. I avoided a large area away from the center, trying to keep it light and mostly paint free. For the rest, I chose a mostly warm palette with deep magenta and golds, allowing the colors to mingle any way they wanted.
When the paint was dry, I removed the polyester webbing and admired the interesting colors and textures that resulted. I turned the paper 'round and 'round, waiting for it to speak to me. At some point, it said "I look like purple lace." Those were the magic words. I remembered a photo I had taken of a friend, years before, posing with a purple lace mantilla. My friend, a native New Mexican, had some classically Spanish facial characteristics which reminded me of a painting my mother had owned in the 1960's. That old painting, also a watercolor, was painted by a Santo Domingo artist who taught at the junior high in Santa Fe where my father taught. Dad's friend offered Mom a painting one day, and she chose a picture of a dark-eyed Spanish lady, standing in front of a window, admiring a rosary. For some reason, that image always haunted me. Perhaps it was those haughty Spanish eyes...
"Orgullosa"
After I decided WHAT the underpainting would become, I began to pull the face out of the background, identifying the turn of the head, the lift of the shoulder. Because I'm not a particularly accomplished portrait artist, the process was laborious. But bit by bit, the haughty lady appeared, proudly showing off her purple lace mantilla and letting the viewer know exactly what she thinks of him!
Inspiration: Recognition of a couple of old images, already stored in my memory, combined with the enjoyment of a fun and interesting technique.
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