Eilidh
 

I completed this one recently. Soft pastels on sanded paper

Margaret, very nice. Good "out of the dark" effect.

Margaret,

I like the "out of the dark"effect as mentioned by Brethe as well. What a strong piece!

out of the dark
 

Thank you for your comments. I really wanted to explore a light spotlighting one half of her face only (Guess who just saw the movie 'Girl with a pearl earring'!)


It felt a bit strange leaving detail out on the dark side, particularly as decent dark pastels are hard to come by

I wanted to soften the edges there as well to focus attention on her eyes and mouth.

It's a very nice individual style you have, Margaret. And such a mysterious image - in a good way, I mean, like Balthus or da Vinci. The viewer asks "who is she?" "what is she looking at?" and "what is behind her?". She's a whole narrative is a single figure. She suggests such an interesting backdrop (she suggests a whole house and a group of mysterious figures) that to actually paint it in would be too much, too unnecessary.

I really like it. I also like the rich colours - the reds, greens and especially the use of magenta and purple.

Lovely. Strong!

I also wanted to say that when I went to Edinburgh last I was so impressed with the strength of the paintings I saw, I wanted to move there. You are lucky to be around such an exciting art culture.

Edinburgh
 

Thank you for your ideas, Scotland has a vibrant arts scene. Can I ask where you saw the paintings in Edinburgh? There are two excellent galleries on Princes Street as well as the Museum for Modern Art