Hello everyone 
The light here is especially great for an artist. And you know, about now (October) it would be the downhill- weather-slope in Europe. The light would become darker, the clouds darker as we move into winter. I think I used to rush my paintings, knowing I had limited daylight hours. And of course you lose so many painting days in autumn/winter. So, I guess I still haven't become used to the novelty of the blue skies.
Just like today, I wake up on the first day of October! And it's straight into the art room to paint. What a treat!
Anyway; some while back I worked on a watercolor called 'Woman' based on a photograph I loved. It ended up having a real 'Art Nouveau' flavour. Here it is below:
For me it represents 'Mother Nature'. An innocent beauty and serenity on the one hand, yet there is a sad resolution in her face. A knowledge of pain and beauty co-existing together in a kind of chaotic dance.
So, I started another version last week, a very large oil on canvas. The underdrawing took a few hours work initially, then I began laying the basic features and blocking in the colours. When I photographed her after a few more hours of painting, there were lovely shadows hitting the canvas. As the famous artist Bob Ross would call a 'happy accident'. A very sweet phrase.
I'll try and post another photo as she progresses and see how she develops. I'll also probably change that green, that's just the base colour, I think I'll add a few glazes to warm up the background.