I really don't want to varnish this until he has seen it, but now it is likely that he wont be here until the new year and I want to get it to him sooner than that. Do I wait, in case I need to change anything? Yes, I guess I do. 
I have widened her smile a little and softened her freckles. I know that it is a very good likeness, but have I caught her personality? I was used to her with the deep blue eyes I had painted. I'll have to get to know her all over again before I decide whether or not the work is finished. (I want to change her hair, it became too full on the right hand side in my excitement in the process of painting). She is a teenager, fresh and innocent, and the hair style reflects that. And later:
This one feels better, even if it might not be classical portraiture. It is a teenager with life and energy and a huge warm smile that I am painting. Now to put it aside for a while, if I can.*****
Painting the eyes again this morning reminded me of the song "Westering Home", a song that hadn't entered my mind for years. A light in the eye is such a wonderful thing, and often the last thing I add when I paint a portrait. Without that speck of light things don't seem so alive. Shining eyes are wonderful!
It crosses my mind occasionally when I work on this particular painting that I don't even know her name. I wonder if it would have made a difference as I painted. I don't really think so, as I studied the photograph so well that I felt that I knew her anyway.
The bottom photograph, taken indoors in morning light with no flash, is a good colour match on my computer.
Today I am grateful for clear international phone connections.
1 comment:
She has very lovely teeth!
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