Artist's Magazine - USA (2020-05)

ArtistsNetwork.com 43

Sketch of Helga
THE IMPORTANCE OF SHAPES 1969; oil on panel, 10x12

I painted Sketch of Helga quickly with a few large,

clear-cut shapes: two large dark values that make up

the background on either side of the figure and the dark

portion of the hair; two more very light shapes for the

puffy sleeves and minor lights on the model’s hair, collar

and hands; a third middle tone for flesh tones in shadow

and the lower skirt; and finally, the dark wine-colored

shape of her bodice. That’s only six major shapes to deal

with in my block-in.

I also chose to render this sketch as loosely as

possible so as not to become involved in time-consuming

detail. I felt the most important aspect of this pose

was the graceful sweep of the subject’s arms and the

concentration of light upon her hands and hair. The

bright, hard-edged palette-knife strokes, showing the

brilliant light on either side of the collar, set off the softer,

more fluid brushwork of the painting in general.

—Richard Schmid

partial block-in