margaret

Arches CP 300 gsm, 14" x 10". 3 hours.

this is a photo tracing made to replace the failed life drawing of the same pose.

for me, images that fail hang around like haunting spirits or heavy debts, and unless they are redeemed by a second effort, or their errors are digested into the core of future painting effort, they poison the optimism to go forward.

this image suggests margaret's unusual ability to shape shift, in the literal sense. i have not encountered another model that has her range in front of the camera.

i seem to be pursuing a simplified image. have been thinking about the pop artists and the new york representationalists like alex katz and especially fairfield porter. as much as i can, i am removing "style" from the image, especially technical effects. a painting should look like an honest effort to describe what is there within an effective but unobtrusive method of simplification and emphasis. in katz's paintings, the simplification is obtrusive. in porter, the simplification is carried a little too far, but it has real music.

this one fell together quickly, probably because the previous two are similar. the hair is raw umber, the flesh is raw sienna tinted with venetian red. there is no blue. the background is ultramarine violet. as usual the digital image is off. the model chose this painting to keep for herself.