Different Strokes Challenge

Last night I was floating around the internet and came upon this blog: http://www.differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com/. I was instantly fascinated by all this and the process. Every 2 weeks the blog curator (sounds so important, huh? ;) uploads a photo for the artists who participate in the challenge to paint. At the end of the 2 weeks all the photos are submitted and posted to the blog. Challenges can collect anywhere up to 90-100 artists in one session. It is fascinating to see all the different methods and styles of painting one photo.

I decided now was the perfect time for me to give it a try. The photo at the time is a photo of a bunch of mannequins and wigs in a shop window. Perfect for my style of recent girlie paintings. Here is the original:

I would like to take a moment to say: this photo is the property of Different Strokes From Different Folks and does in no part belong to me. Nor have I altered it in any way.

At first it seemed daunting to me. So much going on all in one photo. Then I started to simplify it to fit my style. I decided I was only going to use the main grouping on the right side of the photo. Here is my rough paint sketch and out line work I came up with after staring at the photo for a bit:

Not too bad. You can see the general idea of the photo. Next, I decided I was going to turn this into a gathering or crowd of women instead of a window display. So on went the colour:

Looking quite good in my opinion. On I went and this is the final product:

"Gathering" - 5 x 7 canvas board. Mixed media - acrylics and papers. Sealed in Krylon finish.

I am thrilled with the results and loved how my vision turned out. Could I have made it more in depth and comlicated? Yes, but that isn't what my aim was. I aimed for simplicity in the chaos of the photo. I think I acheived it in my own way. :)