Thursday, March 10, 2011

Sad Smile,18x24, oil on linen, portraits of women


"Sad Smile",18x24, oil on linen, portraits of women

Two weeks ago I attended a workshop with Clayton Beck at the Southern Atelier. It was hard work, but very good for me.

We had a different model in the morning, and a different model in the afternoon. We had 8 different models over the 4 days of the workshop, but this young women was my favorite of all. I have wanted to finish this painting for over a week, and today I finally had a chance to get back into it. I am not sure if it is finished, but it is progressing well and may just need a little tweaking.

I feel badly that i do not know this woman's name. The workshop was kind of a blur- very high intensity, and i was exhausted at the end. Anyhow, the amazing thing about this model is that she smiled the entire three hours that we painted her, in spite of the fact that her sister had just died very suddenly from cancer.

I wish I had this woman's spirit. She is so beautiful.

1 comment:

Teresa Cowley said...

I'm glad you finished her. Maybe you could get her name if you email Beck...??? She could have been in shock. Or maybe her faith in her sister's destiny kept that smile on her face! (I'd like to think so.) I know before I lost Mom, she was, at times, jubilant about crossing over and being in the presence of God. Her faith was amazing. Comforting. Sorry, I'm digressing... I pray this model continues to have comfort and rest in her sister's life and death. Your painting captures it all wonderfully.