“Hedvig” was commissioned by her husband, who wanted to give her a portrait for christmas. She is actually the mother of Heidi , that i painted earlier this year. I know Hedvig, she is mums nature loving friend. She harvests natures wild flowers and berries, for food, natural cosmetics and medicine. I wanted to incorporate this into the painting somehow, this love for nature. The collage therefor has elements of blur flowers that grows in Norway in spring. The first sign of brighter and warmer times to come, they are fragile and innocent, but also fierce and strong, as they grown in early spring. Somehow they reflect Hedvig’s gaze, I always know her as strong, but this shows another side of her, almost a fragility in her eyes.
What did I learn
- I used a good resolution reference photo. Always gives good results.
- I was more careful about covering up the original abstract/collage background, more of it now shows and i think this gives a good richness and dynamic to the final composition.
- Also worked really well to let som collage shine through the hair.
- Background worked well when i broke it up with some subtle collage in a similar color. It works better with the textured subject.
