He Wears That Suit

They say clothes make the man...

2019 Leslie Peterson Sapp He Wears That Suit 24x16

I had a lot of fun with this one, simplifying the shapes and colors. The complex interweaving of his fingers are expressed with a single piece of cut out paper. One side of his face is completely in shadow and bleeds into the burgundy of the wall behind. Much of the burgundy color is the raw wood panel, stained with a thing layer of paint- you can see the wood grain. To the left of his head streaks of watercolor on gray paper is collaged on. The tie is scrapbooking paper.

I have started a wood cut version of this piece.

 I got terrifically ambitious and just started carving happily away, not understanding how difficult the printing process would be when I got to it! Attempting to line up four separate color block is a real challenge. I feel a little bit like a cat that got stuck in a tree! However. I have not given up on this one. When I achieve more mastery at printing, I will try again. 

2020 Leslie Peterson Sapp WIP!

 

Stay tuned! 

Dawn

Is Dawn a woman's name? 

Or it could be the time of day? 

Or is it the beginning of an ill fated romance? 

Could it be all three?

2020 Leslie Peterson Sapp Dawn 33x24

Dawn is based on a vintage photograph, and went through interesting changes. The developmental drawing and the miniature version of this piece is lit from the front and you can see the detail of the car and her face.

 

But when I laid down the paper for that sky, I found her silhouette alone was so riveting it seemed wrong to mar it with detail. This piece screamed “less is more”! So I turned the sun around so it looked like it has just below the horizon behind her. Notice the different shadows in each; one is in front of her, the other behind her. I used subtle paint to put just enough to indicate forms without describing them.

Below is a little bitty video about Dawn, filmed during my opening RiverSea Gallery where I discuss the techniques used to create pattern and effects.