unexpected gathering

"Gathering" finished, 22 x 30, acrylic on BFK

The final version of this painting came through a series of responses to this question:

what would happen in a gathering of aprons?

charcoal drawing with transparent acrylic

Since I love drawing, this stage of the painting was a joy. Loose charcoal lines laid out the placement of the aprons. The last apron became something more with the suggestion of the head and legs. I looked at the painting at this stage for a long time before doing anything else. For all of its interest, it lacked a stabilizing horizontal shape.

stabilizing the horizontal plane

How best to do that? A line would have worked. A horizontal block of color would have worked, too. Or, to continue with the idea, why not an apron?

comes forward, goes back

That feels better. Now I can play with pulling some of the shapes forward and pushing others back.

finished!

Sarah McLachlan "Building a Mystery."