Chelsea Study

Chelsea and I worked very hard our first day together.  We had many plans but our plans were altered when the studio was invaded by college men who evidently are very interested in the creation of art. There can be no other explanation for their hovering and hanging around.
The canvas is 20x16 and the image is larger than life. I did not intend to make the face so large but I think that my subconscious wanted to study this lovely face. Sargent says to begin the head smaller than life since the tendency is to enlarge it as you work. I think this is an interesting psychological phenomenon.
I met Chelsea recently at an art show and was simply struck by her enchanting eyes. I feel fortunate that she is available to model and I hope that I will be able to do her beauty justice as I become more familiar with her lines.
Well anyway, I appreciate your stopping by to visit :-)

Blue Tutu

I haven't been posting much because I've been working on larger paintings and have been very focused on that~ I hope you'll forgive me.
I'm in 4 groups that meet together to paint the figure: Mondays and Fridays are 3-hour poses, Tuesdays are ballerinas, Saturdays are nudes. I am also in a group with my friends who plein air paint when possible. These groups generate lots of sketches and a few finished paintings.
This is one sketch, from last Tuesday, that I brought back and finished. The model was in front of a white wall but when I got to my studio, I hung a paisley pillowcase on the wall with thumbtacks and loosely used it's pattern for my background. My studio light and our group's light are exactly the same so it was an easy insertion. The model actually held multiple short poses and this "long pose" I believe was only 60 minutes long. She was quite lovely and I think she inspired everyone there. Thanks for visiting!