Thoughts after the last update:  I've had a bit of a break with busy weekends and getting ready for vacation.  Now I'm on vacation, she's sat and waited for me AND I've gone to see Tom Knechtel's paintings in the meantime.  It will be interesting to see how that might affect the outcome.  He deals with theatrical issues as well, which is why I went to see his work.  His, however, is much more visceral.  He explores bodies in a way I never have.  I would say some of his work is gruesomely beautiful.  Though he works on large surfaces, he has a miniaturists hand. His imagination goes where mine does not, but my imagination DOES go, so it inspires me to tap into more depth to create these pieces out of me.

Yet all is not imagination. There is also work and discipline.  So back to it, eh?

Something is more troubling than her facial features however.  I've gotten stuck in concept land.  That's what has stalled me. 

Now I'm back on track and things are making sense.  I use "swatches" of the papers as if I was swatching a costume rendering.

 The lettering goes on--the play is called The Red Dress.  It's written by Hernando Voca, and the character's name is Rose.  This costume is used in the dance hall scene where Rose finds out she is being two-timed by her boyfriend. Hence the red color. (No it's not a real play, and no, there is no one I know by the name of Hernando Voca.  Yes, it's all in my imagination.  Wonderful things, imaginations.)

I added some tile shapes to the background that tied the square shapes of the swatches and the writing to the rest of the painting.

I think she is done. 

I just have to finish her off with a protective coat of something--I don't know what yet--a varnish of some kind.  I'll call Daniel Smith tomorrow. 

What did I learn from this experience? 
To take my time. To take a break if I need to.
That art work is work.
That I can change anything I want to.
To step back and look at it often.
That doing small tasks in between the big sessions makes me feel like I'm still working on it--and it keeps me thinking.
That I don't have to think about it all the time to get it done.
That it works for me to gather lots of materials around me and then use what works and let go of the rest.
To stay with it and not get discouraged.  I did get a bit discouraged in concept land.
I felt responsible to the people who were watching, and I knew that if I didn't finish I'd be embarrassed. 

Am I happy with the result?  For the most part yes, and a little bit no. I'm not as happy with the collage on the left as I wanted to be, but I think I would have to plan it differently, and it's fine.  It's maybe not as clever as I'd like it to be, but that is really hard to make concrete, so I'll let "more clever " come in it's own good time.
(I'm really picky and expect alot of myself.)
I was thinking I was a better painter.  Now that I've seen Tom Knechtel's painting, I'm in the envy zone.

Working this large has been interesting. 
I like it, and it presents some challenges. 
Time is one of the challenges. 
For some reason I thought I'd be able to finish more quickly than I did. 
Also, I have to be very careful when drawing large to keep proportions correct when I want realistic bodies. 
I'm happy enough now to leave it and go on to the next one. 

Thanks for watching!

Comments?  Questions?  email me

Postscript