Thank you, Lacey! It's nice to know you think it turned out well.

Neither would I! :o But this is how she arrived at her grandmother's house, which is a considerable distance from her own home, and this all took place on the West Coast, 3.000 miles from my home. So I had one chance to take photos and no say in her clothing choice. Neither did her grandmother, who was none too pleased with the dress and was totally against the shoes she was wearing. What's an artist to do? I ended up thinking that I could make the dress into an advantage. I began to like the interplay between the dress and the Oriental rug--so many similar colors, yet the patterns were so different. The shoes are a vastly simplified version of the ones she was wearing. I kept the background simple because I didn't want to introduce any more complicated patterns and/or compositional elements. I ended up, by some miracle, pleasing both the grandmother and the parents!

Hello Alexandra

Your portrait is lovely and strong. Such nice, simple, big brushmarks, and an energetic pose. I think the dress is a very good design element - the green at the bottom adds to the dynamism of the painting. I like the harmony of the verisimilitude and the abstract quality of the areas of paint (which, obviously makes up the good design). Confident. Perfect.

Thomasin
www.thomasindewhurst.artspan.com

Thank you, Thomasin! Your comments are so very encouraging and I really appreciate them.

My favorite part is the turned foot -- very little-girlish!

Alex,

You've always had a very appealing, very recognizable and unique way of painting. Since I've been on the Forum I've noticed also that you seem to achieving more and more depth and gravity in your work - I think your insight into, and concentrated attention to painting atmosphere, is really paying off. Big Time!

David