For our first discussion artwork, I chose this piece by Jean Schormans. I saw it on a recent trip to Paris. It was a large painting, hung above another large piece, but it caught my husband and my attention. The emotional response was probably what grabbed us first. You have a group of boys, from another generation, being typical boys. There is a ringleader standing confidently with his feet apart, (body language is important!) and the followers. We related to this on many levels, as we run a drug rehab program, you always have the ringleaders and followers. Jesus also was a leader, and had His followers.
Notice the coloring, it is filled with soft gray blues and tans. It has good contrast, with the blacks strongly grounding the main subject. The alley line on the right leads your eye into the piece. It is softy realistic, loosely painted.
Where does your eye go when you view the piece? The composition is simple, so your eye doesn’t travel based just on the composition, but it follows the action. We notice the hands, the eyes and expressions.
You may want to copy this piece and learn from the painting technique, or even just a small study of one of the heads. Enjoy!
Leave your comments on this artwork, I would love to hear from you!
Shadow Painter Book 