Taking the Plunge

The female figure was stiffer than I had wanted. The overall image held together but compared to the initial sketch the woman in the painting had very little flow or movement. I felt some resistance to changing something that was working, but I knew I wanted to express something different. I had no choice but to take the plunge.

A number of unsatisfactory manifestations of the female dancer took shape, each one less appealing than the last. I became frustrated and a bit anxious; my saving grace was that I stayed loose throughout the process and was willing to continue to wipe away and repaint until I arrived at what I was envisioning. I continued to work with Photoshop to deepen my feeling for the changes I was about to make on the canvas. There is still a lot of work to do, but am happy that the figures are finally close to the way I want them. This strengthens my confidence in this way of working.