The Artist_s Magazine 2016-03__

40 http://www.artistsmagazine.com

Adding Depth With a Mirror

My thoughts went to the overall composi-

tion of the painting and also to the work of

Velázquez and Degas. At the beginning of the

project,I’dtoyedwiththeideaofintroduc-

ingamirrorintothecomposition,andthe

ideacamebacktomeaboutathirdoftheway

through the project. A mirror on the wall

behind theigures could pick up their relec-

tionandgiveahintoftheroom’sstructure.I

hung a mirror with decorative scrollwork at

abouttheheightofYael’shead.Myinitialpass

at this element was pretty rough ( 8 ).

Facial Features and Hands

heirstfullyrealizedheadIpaintedwas

Solveig’s. he shape of her lips and her face

against her hair became“anchors,” helping me

place other features ( 9 ). Children’s features

are not fully formed, and I underemphasized

their weight and distinctness. I saw the parents’

features as more prominent and sculptural.

After painting Solveig’s head, I addressed

her hands ( 9 ). h e books she read during her

sittings, often from the Hunger Games series,

kept changing, so when I painted her hands, I

asked her to hold a book of criticism by Fairi eld

Porter that I happened to have in the studio.

Glenn: From the Feet Up

h e next portion of the painting I worked

on was Glenn’s i gure and chair. h is was

fortunate because I still had to work on

Solveig’s legs and feet. My strategy was to

work on both chairs and both sets of human

legs and feet simultaneously and then continue

working upward on Glenn, so I had Glenn

and Solveig pose together. he positions of

feet and legs, particularly Glenn’s, changed

signiicantly ( 10 ).

As I mentioned previously, the pattern

onthecarpethelpedmeestablishthelocation

of people and objects. Because I had already

worked on the carpet and its surroundings, I

could draw into the slurry of still-wet paint

with a small, soft round brush. I also worked

with a lightly held straightedge. Sometimes

I would continue working on the carpet after

everyone had left for the day. My brush marks

frequentlytookonaskippingorbrokenchar-

acter that mimicked the character of the woven

carpet.It’ssurprisinghowmuchthecontext

of color afects the way it is read; in the carpet,

bits of color that appear bright red might actu-

ally be burnt sienna cut with white.

I also worked out a better understanding

of the forms of the bottoms of the chairs. Like

the carpet, the architecture of the Mission

chair helped me place Glenn’s body.

My dark mixture (ultramarine blue, aliza-

rin crimson and phthalo green) was helpful

in constructing Glenn’s clothing. To convey

rel ections in the dark areas, such as in Glenn’s

pants, I might work into wet, dark paint with

78

ABOVE LEFT: 7.

(March 29) Partial

development of

standing fi gure (Yael)

ABOVE RIGHT: 8.

(May 17) Addition

of mirror

OPPOSITE TOP

LEFT: 9. (June 1)

Development of

Solveig’s facial

features, hands and

book

OPPOSITE TOP

RIGHT: 10. (June

13) Development

of the legs and feet

of the seated man

(Glenn) and Solveig