Break Free

After painting some legs, I think it is time to do a whole body again. So I am getting back to my belly dancers and capturing movement. One of the ideas that I employ in this series is a haphazard background. I wanted the background with large amounts of red, as it is fire and passion that I want to portray. By making the background rather hazy and with very visible broad brushstrokes, it gives a better sense of movement than what a still background would do. And painting the background is one of the most exciting part of the series, as I just play around to my heart's content and keep applying color as wild as I can.

Break Free
Acrylics on Canvas, 16 x 20 inches
© Nithya Swaminathan

This painting is based on a reference from Flickr photographer Adelita Chohfi. With this reference, it was love at first sight, and the flowing hair on her face is what did it for me. The idea of depicting complete freedom and happiness, without showing even a bit of the face or a smile was a fascinating idea and  I just *had* to paint this one.

The mood of the painting, and the title, all represent very precisely the kind of mood that I was in while doing this. Over the last few days, I was obsessing over a self portrait, which turned out to be a disaster. I cannot explain how depressed I was with it. I thought I gave it a decent start, but then it turned out really bad. I tweaked it to no end, spent a lot of time and energy tweaking it but it was a lost cause. I did complete the painting and post it on WetCanvas, where people did have nice things to say. But I am totally bugged and will not be posting it elsewhere. Anyway, getting back to this painting, this was the perfect way to unwind for me, after a portrait where I harped so much about the details. This one is so exactly opposite, no detail whatsoever, and is all about mood. I literally did leave myself loose and had maximum fun painting this. And I really like how it turned out.

Your feedback is welcome!