Nancy Sullo
When painting people, I try to capture a moment in their everyday lives that reflects their emotions. I hope to portray the concentration and intensity of expression as people interact with the world around them. I use mainly abstract backgrounds to keep emphasis on the subject.
I want my subjects to come to life for the viewer. I do a careful drawing first, then start painting loosely, concentrating on making interesting shapes and brushstrokes. This creates energy in the painting and also helps integrate the subject with the background.
My next step is to work on light and shadow. For watercolor, this means painting the shadow shapes. At this point I am still not thinking very much of the actual subject.
Now I start painting more carefully, pulling the subject out of what started as chaos. I continue to paint subject and background together, little by little, developing the painting until it is finished. My end goal is a realistic but impressionistic and lively image.