Marshana

http://www.annasblankcanvas.com/gallery/adultoilportraits/Marshana.jpg

Just to let you see some more painting development...

Here is my painting of Marshana (one of our models in Michael Mentler's life drawing/painting group here in Dallas). Marshana was a wonderful challenge, with her beautiful dark skin being lit with warm light on one side, and cool light on the other. This made for a huge variety of color, and since color is my specialty...well, I had a great time with this one!

Session 1 (20 minutes):

Session 4 (finished):

A 45-minute head study

My husband Steve and I had the wonderful privilege of flying back to our home state of Wisconsin this last weekend for a 5-day reprieve from the hot Texas weather. We had a wonderful visit with family and friends, including two days at Steve's family cabin near Hayward, right on the Chippewa Flowage (where the world record muskie was caught, in case you were interested). Aside from enjoying numerous boat rides, home-cooked meals, and Cribbage games, I got to sit down with my father-in-law, Dale, and paint his portrait. We didn't have a lot of time, so I did a quick head study. I'm going to finish it here in my studio, but it was exciting to work from life and somehow capture a small piece of his personality. He is the perfect subject - curly hair, glasses, round cheeks, and a handlebar mustache. What more could a portrait artist ask for??