Back at it...

I've been in a funk and haven't done much lately--caught up in proofreading a mystery novel, planning my move, and spending time with my family--but finally forced the issue and feel great that I am back in the swing of things. It's always a relief to feel so good when I stop and then start painting again--rediscovering that sense of passion and satisfaction with my current abilities and the progress I've made.

This is a copy I have started working on. It is a painting of Elizabeth of Throckmorton by Nicolas de Largilliere. What I have so far is not too close to the original... I am not worried about that yet. I wanted to get down a layer of paint first, then as I paint successive layers will correct the shapes slightly to get a better likeness.

I didn't photograph the first stages (a charcoal drawing and then a wash of local colors). This stage uses a lot of paint, pushing the paint into the canvas and leaving tiny peaks when lifting up the brush. I scraped the peaks off after the paint dried, and completed a second layer yesterday (I'll post a photo later--I forgot to take one). This first layer could actually be a good deal more simplified than I have it. I'll increase the amount of detail and the value range with each successive layer of paint.