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Wow, Sharon! Gorgeous and dynamic! I would have never thought the wallpaper behind would be appealing, but it's wonderful.

:thumbsup: Quite stunning Sharon, I love this. The colors are beautiful. Was this a commission or just for fun? By the way, I like the model's name too.
Alicia

Alicia, I thought this was of you!

Seriously Sharon,

This really is quite a stunning composition, and I love the buttery warmth. Wow!

Garth

Just gorgeous, Sharon! I especially like the skirt.

Well I'm blown away! This is beautiful Sharon.

Sharon, is this on Claessens 13DP linen, by any chance? I seem to recall that's what you often use.

I keep coming back to look at this. . . just gorgeous Sharon! Love the color choices.

Beautiful! How long did this huge size take you Sharon? And do you have rooms all in this wallpaper?

Sharon, I have what might sound like a crazy request. If you have time, could you photograph the BACK of the canvas and post that? I've never painted anything larger than 36"x48" and I'm wondering how you stretch and cross brace something this large. Did you stretch the canvas yourself? How on earth do you manage it? Are you up on a stepladder part of the time?

I haven't heard of the Claessens 15. Is that a new, finer weave than the 13?

Thanks, Sharon. This is very helpful.

Simply...fabulous!

Best--TE

I don't even feel qualified to respond to this one. But, Sharon, it is

BREATHTAKING ! ! !

Oh, Sharon, how I would love to see this in person! She is just lovely, the composition and edges are marvelous!

You must have the patience of a saint to paint all that background - but it's spectacular.

Sharon,

The finest rose in the garden is the girl, and you have been the brilliant gardener. What a lovely arabesque pattern of it all.

Allan

Sharon, this is extraordinarily beautiful, painted with such control and style. I love how you've made each of the various surfaces so touchable, what a visual feast. And the size...! I'll bet the hair just blows back from your head when you stand in front of it.

You're making me think I should stop with the panels for a while and give linen another go-round.

Sharon, my biggest problem with all my panels - ABS, gesso, Gamblin grounds, linen glued to boards, etc. - is that I have a terrible time getting the paint to come off my brushes during the inital lay-in. I work myself into snits until I get the first coat of paint down and only then do I start to cheer up a little. Is it possible that a smooth surface with little absorbency tries to repel the paint? It seems to me that panels encourage multiple coats of paint and lots of obsessive noodling on the surface.

I've been putting down an initial tone which contains a heavy dose of Studio Product's Underpainting Medium, and it does seem to help 'grab' the paint, but oddly, not with all of the panels I've tried it on.

Thank you for the website - I will certainly order from the company, and I just emailed to see if they will custom-make my dream palette (hands-free) for me. They seem have an adventurous woodworking inclination so maybe they'll say yes.

I just went back and drooled over those shadows in your painting - they are so soft.

OH SHARON! This is my absolute favorite of yours. I always thought I preferred your pastels to your oils, but I can't say that anymore. It is just stunning!

Wow. I wish I had something more intelligent to say, but 'wow' sums it up pretty good. If you have anything else to give away, I'll give you my address. :D

I'm going to the Metropolitan tomorrow to study portraits, I'll start with this one tonight.

Ok - now she is very cool. What a great set-up. Heck - even the fake head looks good enough to paint in this light! Too bad she can't hold your coffee for you though.

It's so beautiful!!! --I'm going to faint!! :-)

Ha ha!! :-)

I just noticed the manequin (hadn't read that far into the thread).

I meant the painting -"Alicia Rose" -it's absolutely amazing!!!

Carlos