margaret

Winsor & Newton CP 14" x 10". 4 hours.

this painting was traced in charcoal from a photo reference. the pose was spontaneous and too extreme to hold for a life drawing.

the painting proceeded as a series of corrections or attempts to fix previous misjudgments or miscalculations. i had to scrub away many charcoal lines in the face, because they were too dark; the teeth were difficult to mix and outline; the modeling of the eyes was difficult to get right.

i like the overall simple, flat effect because it provides a background to the expression of the face, which is the focus anyway. but the labor involved makes the painting feel a bit dead or static.

i now have a week between models to catch up with work and plan some extended series of pieces.

i have also rearranged the display of paintings on my handprint.com domain, in part to provide browsing by genre, and in part to locate future figure nude paintings and drawings.