late winter or almost

I have finished the painting I started from a quick sighting. It was a first time I used a photo for a simple reference, not as a crutch. It made carrying a small camera seem more useful. I may have more to do on this painting but it seems to work now. I like to show things the way they are, more or less. Sometimes a painting is just done. If I work too much, the spirit is lost. I might as well start again. I enjoy that delicacy actually. It is a difficult call sometimes to know when it is done.

Dinah and I go to a figure drawing group on Saturday morning. I made this drawing after quite a few warm up drawings. The model was elegant and perfectly formed. She was relaxed in her poses which I think shows in the drawing. I think there may be something here to work on so I taped the drawing up in the studio. Dinah and I love to eat lunch at Consuelo's taqueria on Amherst St in Manchester. My photographs are often less than great. I learned from Jim Braley, who designed this website, that I should prop them up against a white wall. This is done, but the studio lighting is a bit dark.
I spent the sunny afternoon of President's Day near the bus station doing a study of the scene in front of me. I may have to do a bit of touch up here too, but I will see that the next time I am in the studio. It was refreshing to be outdoors for so long solving problems of light and distance and shadows.