[Chris Saper]

Dear Bill,

Gorgeous piece. To me, this painting bridges the gap between portrait and figurative work - I think perhaps because there are so many timeless elements at play. For example, the mood of the painting is very powerful, serene and contemplative. The clothing and hair could be from any of several centuries; the painting has the feel that it was executed in a studio, from life, before the invention of electricity. (Yet I know you could have have done this from a photo just as believably.) Just because she isn't pouring milk from a lovely old pitcher doesn't mean I don't believe she just set it down, just out of view.

When the viewer can gaze back and become engaged in the image, as in this painting, I think its appeal becomes increasingly universal. I'd hang it in my home in a heartbeat. It doesn't matter to me who the model is; in fact, I'd probably rather not have any factual information to intercede on my response to the canvas.

Oh, BTW, what color have you used in the background? It seem on my monitor to be fairly untextured; is this so?