Monday 16 April 2012

Jonathan Strange - Another WIP

So I had another whack at the Jonathan Strange portrait I posted a while back.  I was trying to get a sort of 19th century portraiture feel.  The previous version, I felt was kind of too caricatured, and didn't feel as much like the character, looking back.  Here, I'm trying to get disheveled-yet-brilliant...















































Anyway, it's obviously not finished yet, but I'm getting closer!  In the back the intention is to get a lot of those accoutrements common to Georgian-era portraits... like the busts of famous people and curtains and all that hanging in the back.  I've been getting a lot of inspiration from the paintins of Ingres, who (though french) was contemporary with the period the book (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Suzanna Clarke of course) was set in.

Enjoy!

8 comments:

  1. That's fantastic! I'm reading the book now, and you've definitely captured the character perfectly. You have to do Norrell next ;)

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  2. Love it! I was just telling someone about that book. Never actually finished it though. Worth giving another try? That thing's a brick.

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  3. there's a great arrogance and intensity in the face.

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  4. Just found your site from a work mate. Damn, another great concept artist. Like your loose but confident digital painting. Photoshop? Like the dragons with character on your previous post's.

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  5. Turning out pretty cool Laurel. I love how you do your subtle color shifts.

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  6. I love it! You should try to reproduce that portrait they do in the book, you know the one where Norrell looks all rapacious and secretive and Strange looks ironical and mysterious. Or maybe one of Arabella?

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  7. I love this. This book deserves its own art show centered around it. I've tried to convince so many people to read it, but I think I lose them when I try to explain the whole footnote structure.

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