Crossing a Boundary--My own Degas

I crossed a boundary recently. I finally produced something that surprised me at how well it turned out.

I love Popular Photography and Backpacker magazines. I found a lot of inspiration from these photos. A winning photograph in Popular Photography was of some ballet dancers waiting behind stage. The photographer altered the photos digitally to make it look more like a painting than a photograph- a bit Degas.

Although the photograph was one large spread, I decided that I liked the photograph split according to the pages of the magazine. I painted one of the blue ballerinas, and I’m working on another of the pink ballerinas.

I think what caught my attention was the dramatic lighting. I like the light falling on the dancers’ skins and the dark background. I also love the photograph for the dancers of different sizes.