THE UNFOLDING KISS: MY FULL SCALE PAINTING COMPLETE!

In my Blog post on 2 February many of you might have seen my oil painting study for The Unfolding Kiss; Both the study and this larger scale work, represent a long term ambition of mine to introduce figures into my floral work in an effort to create something quite new. And with this in mind I am delighted to announce that after many months of painstaking work this full sized painting is now finished, varnished and ready to go out into the world.

The idea behind the painting was to marry two of my favourite subjects in oil painting. The first is the translucent petals of the white rose, which can reveal fascinating abstract shapes and colours when hit by a light source. The second, is that timeless and endlessly fascinating subject in art, the human figure. And as I mentioned back in January, the figures at the centre of this painting are based on an iconic work called "The Kiss" by the wonderful French Sculptor Auguste Rodin.
I’ve always loved Rodin’s work and wanted to pay homage to him, while at the same time wanting to create something quite new, by endeavouring to seamlessly meld Rodin's embracing figures into my own rose composition.

Needless to say, the work presented numerous technical challenges along the way, which pushed my skill and experience to the limits. But now I am happy to say, that with the work completed, and a little time having elapsed to quieten the internal critic, I can step back and view this new piece with a quiet sense of satisfaction, for not only does it come very close to my original conception, but it also opens up fresh new possibilities for paintings in the future.



This is the back view of the canvas. It's a 120x80cm or approximately 31x47 inches Belgian linen stretched over study deep edge poplar stretcher bars from Milliken Bro.

If you'd like to check the availability of this painting or to see more information please click on the link below, or drop me an email at vincentkeeling@gmail.com

The Unfolding Kiss, oil painting by Vincent Keeling

All the best!

Vincent Keeling