• With the various pastel figure and portrait drawings laid out, I decided my prompt words for this painting were “Struggle” and “Grief”
  • I was reflecting on my career and the arc of its changes, many of which have been out of my control.
  • A visit to my local butcher connected the above into a more overtly ‘selling our bodies to our jobs’ theme.
  • This took me into the space of my model, who was literally hiring their body out as the product. A theme I’ve hit upon a few times in my thinking, and in my reading.
  • During one pose, the model wore high heels and moved into a slumped, floor pose. This connected into all the above to form this painting.

Small Test

25x25cm Test using acrylics, posca pens, charcoal, pastel dust and newspaper

Thoughts

  • The figure needs to be more strongly differentiated versus the background.
  • The sketchy quality of how I used the pens doesn’t appeal to me, but leads me towards the idea of layering line atop more tonal work. Perhaps more fluid ‘under’ line work, like the figures from part 4 that reminded me of Henry Moore? More “swoopy” less “sketchy”
  • The square format give a ‘constrained’ sense, which I think fits my thinking. how can I do more with the space that the figure is within?
  • Subtle use of ‘antique’ toned mica powder provides an interesting sheen to the acrylic in places. The idea is coming from the Ben Woolfitt sketchbooks.

Relevant Sketches

Full Size

Creating tonal variation in the newspaper layer, via different newspapers
Adding a charcoal underdrawing. A few things to adjust. The ‘window sign’ is too central/too obvious. Needs to be moved to the left. I need to make sure that any identifying faces, in the newspaper articles, are covered in the final work.
Painting in the model. I’m trying hard to avoid my need to blend everything. Adjusted the model’s head position to be more downward. The background is becoming ambiguous. The approximate design is taken from the butcher shop from window/modeled plaster work. But it is become balcony-like, overlooking.
The terrifying moment when you pour over a glaze you know will be transparent, but doesn’t look that way when wet.
Disaster! The first glaze was too subtle, so I added another but swung too far in the other direction. I was tempted to tear the whole thing off and start over. But I pushed onward.
The repainting has lost a lot of character. I need revisit the face, to reduce how flat it looks– contrast needs improving. There is a stronger sense of ‘balcony’ now, rather than ‘street’. I’m good with that.
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