O'le Painting

I can remember my very first class of flamenco...standing in the hallway before going up the stairs, I could hear the music but more loudly the stomping and then someone yelled, "O'le"! This word is used often while dancing flamenco...it's like saying, "yes", "come on", "oh yeah", "that's right" and "keep going" all contained in one simple word. At certain times, the dancer will step hard, fling her head and arms at just the right juxtposition and at this moment an "O'le" is sure to be yelled. Using palette knives, acrylics and gel medium to get the thicker texture, I built this painting from dark to light and finished with some of the most brilliant colors. I really love the contrast I put into this piece...extreme darks against extreme lights and just a hint of a determined face can be seen by using the back of my palette knife to create the expression. You can almost feel the passion burn off of the canvas and I bet even now, looking at her, you want to say, "O'le!"