Return to Journal listSometimes a painting asserts its own direction, as if it knows what it needs independent of my intentions. The chair refused every solution I offered, shifting from a simple seat to a couch extending to the right edge of the canvas. When the chair finally settled into a size and place that felt right, it began to reject the red color I envisioned. I tried one red after another, yet none took hold. Only when I mixed a green did the chair immediately look right, as though the painting had been guiding me there from the start.Woman with Dog, in progressoil on linen, 18 x 14 inchesMeanwhile, the window remains to be resolved. My plan now is to add a house whose roofline slant will echo the angle of the figure’s leg and guide the viewer’s eye back into the image. Below is a quick ink study over a photo showing how the scene will be composed.Ink and color pencil over a photoWoman with Dog will appear in my upcoming solo exhibition at Adelson Galleries in New York, opening November 6.
