"perhaps her better half".......new venture

The paintings i started out in the desert seemed embued with the frustration i felt while trying to paint them in the excessively arid, windy, and hot conditions in the california desert. While i know i will get back to them, i need to let them lie fallow for a little while until i get the yen to re-tackle one or another.

So, i decided on a fresh start. Luckily this was aided by having a few drawings already completed. I did a bunch in preparation for my sojourn with ted nuttall out in santa fe. Of the ones that i had drawn i picked this one because i wanted to experiment a bit with the bachground and i wasn't as heavily invested in the outcome as with a couple of others.

This was taken from some vintage photos i picked up at a local antique coop store in downtown la crosse several years ago. I like these old photos and even like painting from them more. It's drawn on a piece of arches hot press, 300# paper and is about 16"x17".  I chose the composition because i liked the play of words for the title and it was a bit different from the usual "portait" painting. Here are the first few washes and a fair start on their features.