The Backward Glance 2

Oops! The floor again!




















After finally sketching in the composition on the canvas, it was time to choose colors. The original picture I'm working from is in black and white with no background so the options were unlimited. Red velvet for the drapery was the first decision I made. I then decided to place them on a balcony looking over a late evening sky. I had first thought about putting them at the entrance to an elaborate room full of people but thought better of it. In order to keep the viewer's attention on the woman's face, it seemed important to keep the background as simple as possible. "Busyness" is good in its place but I'm hoping to convey serenity all around the "busyness" going on in the woman's mind.

The color of the balcony is the exact color of my house in Florida. Its a lovely, soft yellow color and works well as a backdrop for the bright flowers that seem to bloom here year round. If I keep the red to muted tones I think these three colors ~ the drapes, sky, and balcony ~ will work well as a frame for the lady's dress. The gentleman's uniform will be black and gray and should contrast nicely with the light tones I've planned for her outfit.

After all this planning, I was excited to get started! This is a huge canvas and I took it outside to work on a big table on my porch. After a few hours of blocking in the sky ~ getting a little shading in to serve as a backdrop for the clouds to be added later ~ I started in on the balcony. The architectural detail on the balcony is going to remain relatively simple. Its the woman, her glance, that is going to be the focal point. Everything else, though important to the entire painting, serves only to either draw one's eye to her face or to enhance it by softly framing it.

As mentioned above, however, this is a big canvas so after about three hours of dancing around it, I was ready to quit. Satisfied with my work so far, I snapped a few pictures and downloaded them to my computer. Only then, did I realize that my floor is still askew! Its like I can't draw a straight line! And I'm using a ruler! At any rate I think I know what the problem is and will (try) to fix it next time I catch up with The Backward Glance.