2PM: after a few more tweaks, to the guitar and the fingers mostly, here's what she looks like now:
for the first time since i started work on this painting, i can say it SINGS!
i evaluate this by casting rapid glances, no more than 1-2 seconds, at the painting. either it sings or it doesn't. if not, i examine it more carefully to see what's not working. but the true test is bringing it over to the house, hanging it and looking at it under different conditions. usually a 24 hour period is enough. and then, i can either bring it back to the studio for more work, or leave it alone.
1 pm: after gazing at this painting in our house last night & this morning, i found areas that needed tweaking, which is what i'm now up to.
first, i scrumbled & scraped the entire surface with an off white. i made a slight sacrifice of certain delicate area of the painting, but i felt it just had to be done so i could paint back into it. so far i'm happy with the results, but i'm still working.......
