1:26 PM: i’m up since 3 am. a lousy night’s sleep. and we walked up the trail this morning, when I broke my own recored for how fast I could get up to a rock that’s a landmark for mikela & i. used to do it in 29 minutes; today I did it in 25. when I could go no further, I sat on a rock & made a drawing, giving mikela just enough time to get a bit further up the trail than yesterday.
so I’m not in great shape to do much work on this painting, and i’ll correct a few things I don’t like tomorrow morning, when i’m fresh.
RIGHT: the figure of a dancing woman on the right side of the composition has been partially painted in; her hair and part of her garment are now a faded, distressed black.
and the figure of the dancing woman on the left has gained more definition, especially her face, torso, legs & sneakered feet. I completely removed the red oil pastel outline of her feet & legs, which I found heavy handed.
BELOW: the painting following today’s modifications and, below that, yesterday’s version
the dancing woman on the right of the composition
9/4/2021painting moments ago.
the painting as it looked at the end of the day yesterday
overall, I would say that this new painting is somewhat of a departure from it’s recent bothers and sisters, in that it gives more of a feeling of an ancient cretan wall painting. the figures are caught in a moment of movement, bathed in a sea of patterning. it takes on something of a ceremonial air, and invites the viewer’s imagination to fill in the blanks.