headless couple

I can't imagine I'll need to use that exact blog post title again. These are the figures I painted this week for a local musician, Stephen Clair, who will be using them in a music video. I think they will also be on the cover of his next album. In the video, people will be behind them, lending their heads; also they'll be embellished and accessorized. I'm looking forward to seeing this.
They're each about 5'5" tall and will be cut closely around the outlines, so I'll probably share another photo then. This project was sort of about finding the balance between cartoony and realistic. I hope I struck it. It was actually nice not having to deal with the heads. When I used to paint figures a long time ago, they were often featureless (save a nose or furrowed brow) and unclothed- it was more about their gestures, what they were doing. It was always important that I get the hands and feet essentially right, enough so that you'd believe it. I used to twist my own appendages around or look in a mirror to draw them; a digital camera makes this a bit easier, as does the ability to go into a shop and charm the long-legged salesgirl into modeling shoes for me.