Here is the first picture I stuck together from several pictures I had taken:
I imagine this would be easier if I had PhotoShop!
The face of the fat man in foreground in this picture is pretty poor quality and not very tonal but the creases in the shirt are very distinct and I can imagine painting this image. The old man looking out of the window has better contrast. The old man the lighting has a better contrast, with more visible tones. I need to balance all the tones. It's one of the problems of working from photographs. And especially, from my secret snaps!
I don't want to make the whole background surrounding the two men in the foreground completely blurred out, but want more detail to add to the overall idea.
Here is another, more worked version of the same thing. The wonders of the Pritt stick!
Returning to the subject of honesty. Let's put together some key words that come to mind in connection with commuting: repetition, distraction, tension, purpose, purposelessness, boredom, fatigue, career, motivation, preoccupation, self-sacrifice, family.
Gazing out of the window and dozing off are escapes for some people, forms of meditation that help to get away from the tedium and uncomfortable routine. Or looking at phones, or listening to music. They also help to get away from the terrible closeness of strangers! The enforced intimacy and unwelcome nearness to other people.
The man immediately behind the two main figures has a phone, repeating the action of the man in the foreground. Almost everyone seems to be looking at some or other electronic device.
Commuter trains are commonly crowded. In one sense it's a blur. In another sense, everything is black and white and tense. Everyone sees everyone else. Everyone knows what everyone else is doing, but no-one is looking at anyone. I hope to represent this tension through sharpness, tactical blurring and detailed line direction.
At first I thought I would blur the entire background. As per the example below (made with PhotoShop on a borrowed machine):
This was, in a way, pushing back on earlier thoughts - that life is the blur beyond the window. I do regret losing the background. And so I have rejected this in favour of a more considered image (the second one, above).
What I hope to achieve, by dealing with photographs in this rough way, is a basis for a painting that will give a more personal and a fuller version of the subject.
