[Tom Edgerton]

This is Frances, sister of the little girl in the blue dress I posted a while back.

It's not particularly innovative in its setup...you've seen this many times before. But I'm posting it because I'm beginning to get hold of some things that have been plaguing me for several years, and I feel good about that.

I'm starting to see color for the first time, in a different way. Before, I sort of saw everything as shades of gray with color perceived after, almost like a grisaille, even when painting directly--in other words, I modeled with gray and color followed. This may have resulted from a preoccupation with the gray scale and nailing values correctly. Now I'm beginning to see color more from the start, and to model with more subtle color values and not just gray.

Also too, I'm beginning to settle into an attitude about detail that I'm comfortable with. The actual floor had a lot more detail in the grain, and the wallpaper had a pronounced pattern. But I subordinated all of this, and tried to develop a painted shorthand for the floor, without anally painting every board. This editing may seem contradictory with the quest I seem to be on for a direct, solid realism to the heads, but I don't want the environments to steal from the interaction with the subjects.

So, long story short, I'm still inching along, but feeling better about where things are going.