Oil and charcoal on canvas
2024

This painting highlights a moment within one of my recent life drawing classes through which one of my students, Debbie, can be seen contemplating the next step within her drawing. In this, Debbie can be seen standing with a confidently upright posture, holding one arm perched behind her back while the other holds her pencil hesitantly hovering closely over the paper’s surface.

This juxtaposition between confidence in pose and hesitance in action reminded me of the conflict that we as artists often feel when creating art.

The subject has been painted in similar tones to our background, with the exception of her apron and trousers which make liberal use of black to build a strong dark focal point to draw the eye. In contrast to the loose and hazy blues of the background, her orange easel stands out firmly from the background assisted by the dull shadow beneath. The background itself is constructed from thick overlaid marks of lighter blues interspersed with scant marks of yellow and red. To the left of the easel, an indistinct red mark hints at another figure concealed just behind Debbie’s easel.