Maggie, A Lesson Painting, Part III

Before running away to Saratoga over the weekend, I left Maggie on my easel with a cloak of rainbow colors. Today I got the chance to pick up my brushes and finish her portrait.   I began the painting session by laying down wide swathes of local color - however, you'll notice there remain small strips of the bold, hot hues around the edges of the forms. I'll leave these "peek-a-boo pockets" all over the painting - they will add some color zing to the end result.   After identifying the overall background value of the couch cushions, I defined the lighter stripes, focusing on the drape of the fabric and not so much on the proper values. These I would correct later with layers of glaze (translucent paint).   I also toyed with the patterned couch pillows, but determined they created too much pattern, and painted them out. I want the viewer's eyes to rest on Maggie, not to get distracted by a wealth of other details.   And here she is as she stands now - the stripes have been pushed back with some glazes, and the greatest density of detail is packed into the triangle made by her eyes and nose.   I'm waiting to hear from my client if there are any other tweaks needed to further capture her likeness. This waiting time is the absolute hardest part of painting portraits.   The piece is titled simply "Maggie." It's larger than life at 12" x 20", and done in Golden Open and Heavy Body Acrylics on an Ampersand Gessobord.   Want one of your own? Then email me!   Thanks, as always, for sharing my artwork with your friends and family, Kim ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com