I added another layer of pink to the background, making the top darker and redder than before. I worked on developing the facial features and hand, striving for some realism in the hand where the girl is in contact with the outer world and less and less as you approach her eyes. I sketched in the bird’s form. I played around with the contour of the body and gessoed out the necklace. I still need to determine what those green hills become and how this girl is attired. I’ll deal with her hair later. It was another all nighter last night and the singing of the birds came as a surprise to me. Big paintings take a long time. It seems I am constantly pushing myself to do new things. I had just gotten to the point where I could complete one of my average sized paintings in one session with a quick tweaking the next day. But those paintings were about 300 square inches or less and this is 1200 square inches. It seems that the size of the canvas controls a lot about how I work. With a piece this large which is not all planned from the beginning, I find that I have many decisions to make along the way and that I am spending way more time looking than actually applying paint. I have rearranged the studio, which is just too small, to allow me more room between the canvas and my palette. It keeps me moving around which helps my body, as well as allows me the space I need to look at the whole piece. Every painting offer different challenges and lessons about how to think about art and myself, how to move, how to see. I think this is why, in spite of requiring continuous change in my life, I can keep painting. I may have finally found a routine that does not make me feel penned in.
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