"Mask with Dove" or " A Little Bird Told Me..."

Oil on 5x7 inch hardboard panel



One of the things I really enjoy drawing are faces. I've had this ceramic mask for years, and I always look at it, and see a painting.. but I always put it off and do something else. I finally decided to play with it a little and found that with the addition of the blue tissue paper, it started to look interesting. I added the little dove beside it..(I have a bunch of different things hanging around on shelves, and the dove caught my eye). It's little red beak matched the mask's red lips and cheeks. I love the blue, and the way it reflected into the shadows. I played with cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, winsor violet and permanent rose in combination with white.
It took me forever to get a good photo though, the blue in every picture came out neon bright, and absolutely glowed in the shadows!! The real painting was not at all like the pictures... so I tried different settings, different lighting... tried photoshop alterations... and I have finally come up with a photo I am satisfied with. At least, on my monitor it looks right... if the blue is overwhelming on your monitor, just know that it is not quite that intense!