"The Diva"

"The Diva",  Acrylic on paper, 14" x 20" image
Price:  $850



I painted this artwork yesterday, starting at 8:00 a.m. and finishing at 5:00 p.m.  I had to meet a deadline for the Northwest Watercolor Society.  I entered with one hour to spare!  Several times, I almost quit in the midst of this painting, but my granddaughter, said, "No, grandma, you can do it!", so I continued.  Constantly, I tell students that very thing.  If we just keep going past the "ugly teenage" stage, lots of times, these can be your best paintings.  I really listened to the painting as I worked.  For instance, the blue streak coming from the left side was in the underpainting, and I liked how it connected the background to her dress, so I left it in.  Also the abstract shapes behind her head were formed in the first layer also, so when I negative painted around them, the shapes were very interesting. 
This painting started with squirting several colors on prepared paper, and then scraping it with a credit card.  It's a great way to get exciting colors in the underpainting.  I'm teaching in The Villages, FL from January 25 - 29th, and this is one of the subjects, "Painting like Gustav Klimt".  It's really a fun technique!  If interested in coming, contact Beverly Hennessy at www.thevillagesartworkshops.com
bbaug97@aol.com  352-572-5317