Sketchbook 2k9 - Bubble Gun Explosion

This piece is called bubble gum explosion and it is a painting some some time ago. I remember posting the painting somewhere online but I forget where. The drawing came first and then the painting. I never realized until now that the drawing describes what I wanted to express much better than the painting. When I finished the painting I completely ignored the drawing but looking back at the drawing now the display of color is much more vibrant the the strokes are much more energetic when compared to the painting. The reflection in the water was better executed in the drawing, by far. I do still like the figure in the painting, as it has a very static quality to it. If you look closely at the figures left hand and head there are highlights of light blue around it. The decision to paint those highlights were not cognitive at the time of the painting and purely reactionary but I think somewhere inside me I thought the figure might not have appeared to be in the top layer because the head and hand area merged with the background. Comparisons like these make me reconsider my decisions to ever paint.