Lynne Chinn's Virgin

Lynne is in my pantheon of mosaic gods & goddesses. I am always in awe when I see her work. But more importantly, I always learn something when I examine her technique.

There are a number of things about this piece which amaze me - the way the light falls on her head, the way her veil disintegrates into the background, the effect created with the different thicknesses of the strands of her hair - the little shadow under her right (our left) eyeball. Just amazing.

But I learn the most when someone does something which I would never think about doing and I wonder why. Lynne kept the line between her left cheek (our left - her right) and its shadow jagged. I would have smoothed it out and thought nothing about it. But look at the effect it creates making the jawline more defined and her face thinner than it otherwise would have looked. She said she did this intentionally: "If I made both sides the same, it looks too perfect and therefore, not like artwork or ‘brushstrokes’."

If I didn't know any better, I think Luke is a little bit smitten with her.

All jesting aside, look at what happens to her cheek when the photo is reduced - similar to looking at her from a distance. The line between light and dark smooths out but in a way which is very subtle and exquisite. In contrast, the line of shadow on her left forehead (our left - her right) was smoothed out to begin with and looks more pronounced.