Monday, January 31, 2011

Masquerade



watercolor on paper 18 x 24
Finally finished, just in time for Carnevale!  I titled this one Masquerade, aside from the obvious reasons, the song from Phantom of the Opera kept playing in my mind.  The reference photo for this picture was taken while Brian and I were in Venice during Carnevale.  It truly is like being in a live real, live musical.  I found it to be magical.  Costumed creatures arriving on their gondolas and strolling through the city, stopping at perfect photo op points and posing for everyone's enjoyment.  I have not attended one of the actual balls, I'm sure it is amazing.  For me the costumes are just beyond belief.  The most creative that I saw were an entire family decked out in period clothing made entirely of bubble pack, down to the tassels on the shoes and the big curly wigs.  That was a sight to see and unfortunately none of our pics turned out. 
watercolor on paper 10 x 10
Steven completed another colorful creation this week.  He is loving his new paints.  Another masterpiece, unfortunately painted on the flip side of last weeks.  Oh, well guess we'll have to frame it in between glass.  He has his own gallery in our house.  We have a china hutch in our entry way  and it houses a sampling of Steven's artworks.

Hope everyone has a great week!  It's a celebratory time at our house, we have a new nephew, Joshua Charles, born on the 31st.

Carrie

24 comments:

  1. J'ai beaucoup aimé voir la progression de ce merveilleux travail... aujourd'hui je peux encore aiguiser mon regard en m'étonnant devant l'ensemble de tous les détails... bravo aux deux artistes...
    Bisous

    ReplyDelete
  2. Another fabulous painting Carrie! I really enjoyed seeing the progression. I love how the characters are vibrant the architecture appears mainly black and white with toughes of sepia tones to unit it with the characters in costume. Lots of detail, lots of work, and obviously wonderful visual memories. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It has come out so well. Those colors amongs all those greys are just too good. As always I loved Steven's work. And congratulation for having another little one come into your family.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is such an unusual subject for a painting! It looks incredibly complicated and I'm not sure I would attempt something as complex as this - Well, not yet anyway! Needless to say, it is of course brilliant :0)
    I like the fact that there is very little colour anywhere other than in the figures - It gives it a surreal feel.
    Congratulations on the new arrival :0D
    I see a baby portrait coming up!

    Steven - Wow! Fancy having your own little art gallery! You are very lucky! This painting will be a lovely addition to your collection :0)
    And a new cousin - How exciting!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my goodness! I love your work! Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome! and a big congrats on the new arrival! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Simply gorgeous, Carrie! And it brings back wonderful memories of my visit to that glorious city! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love that Steven has his own little art gallery. :) His painting is beautiful! And WOW look at your awesome painting! I love those colors, they really make the painting live!! Nice work Carrie. :) And congrats on your nephew, that is happy news!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Carrie, you never cease to amaze me! I love this week's painting although I have to say, I'm a tad bit disappointed there isn't any brick in it, or poppies!!! Just kiddin'! I love how you accented the dull colors with the vibrant orange or the costumes and a little of the color on the roof tops. Really neat!

    I really like Steven's new paints, too. They look so bright! Love how you have a little artist on your hands....can't wait to see some of Sam's work one of these days - come on Carrie!

    So glad to hear Sarah and baby are doing well! Congrats on the newest addition!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ooooo i knew this would give me chills, even when it was barely begun! stunning, you are gifted!! bravo to you and steven! congrats on the new addition to the family!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Esta acuarela es fantastica, enhorabuena.

    ReplyDelete
  12. One wonderful work more ! I like the contrast between the coolness of the marble and the heat of materials of costumes. An atmosphere so enigmatic as the masks of the Carnival. Bravo Carrie for the delight.
    Do you know Wendy Artin? If not, look at that, you will like i think :
    http://wendyartin.com/
    Bises. Olivia

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is an extraordinary painting, lovely the contrast between light and dark. i really admire your work.

    ReplyDelete
  14. You have such great talent and passion for art! These are wonderful paintings!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Awesome Work. I love the theatrics.

    ReplyDelete
  16. You are amazing Carrie!! It looks like such a complicated piece but you aced it. So magical..Beautifully done! Maybe Joshua can get some tips from his cousin in the future.!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Carrie, this is so wonderful! I've come to your blog twice and gotten so engrossed in looking at the painting that I forgot to post a comment. I love all the details--the carvings on the buildings, the ruffles on her sleeve, even the bird! As someone commented, adding the small amounts of color to the buildings ties everything together. And of course, the figures themselves are gorgeous. What a beautiful painting!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Fantastic painting! I love the way the colours of the costumes jump out against the light buildings :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Beautiful!!! I love the contrast of the colorful costumes against the b&W of the buildings. I've been to Venice twice, but never for Carnival. There are usually mimes dressed in costume down by the boats, so I do have a few photos of that.

    Your son's work is great!

    ReplyDelete
  20. worth the wait ! amazing.. hard to believe it's a painting ! I had to do a double take ! fantastic...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow, that is awesome Carrie, beautiful work, and Stevens too)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great to have a new baby in the family! and we need to also celebrate Carnevale (right spelling) Italian style.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I think this is one of my favorites, love those bright areas of color especially against the almost monochromatic background.

    ReplyDelete