Boy Eating A Mango

This is the one I worked on today. The photo doesn’t really do it justice. In real life I am really happy with it as the boy really looks like he is sucking on a mango. I tried to bring the background colour into the boy but it doesn’t have the same feel as my last piece so I reworked the colours so that it looks more complete. The boy actually had white paint on his body and face that is why I exaggerated the whites and matched them with dry-brushing in the background. I kept the textures and this time added a sandy type of texture paste which I quite like especially when a lighter colour is rubbed on top. I would really like to keep pushing my portraits. I do like the fact they look more painterly than a photo. It is actually quite fun creating it because the first layer I paint correctly with the skin tones then I loosen up and scribble many colours on top such as yellows for the hi-lights and blue for the shadows. I am looking forward to hearing what people think at my exhibition. Before I leave Ghana I think I’d like to challenge myself and create a few portraits like this on a giant canvas. It can capture the sights which really attract my attention in the busy streets of Accra.