Hope for a sow's ear ...

I've been housebound and out of blank canvases - a nightmare for a painter with a paint-every-day-for-several-weeks plan. Fortunately, as mentioned in a previous post, I have a large stack of abandoned works to forage through and as I did so late one night I discovered Portrait of an Alter Ego. This work was abandoned well over a year ago after my model decided there were better things to do than pose for me. Left to my own devices and imagination, I began taking liberties and was soon distraught to realize the face had taken on a Disney-esque quality. I had added a lot of collage elements that I was pleased with, but the face was too much, so I turned the work toward the wall, and as the months slipped by and other flops were stacked along side of it, all memory of the work was erased. Until Thursday night.

My critical examination concluded with a decision to salvage the piece. I've worked on it for several hours Friday, changing the face and adding more colour, texture, and collage elements and am pleased at how nicely it seems to be coming along.

(as yet unfinished, acrylic and mixed media on wood cradle panel, 20"x16")

Although the figure no longer resembles my model, said model/novelist entered the studio yesterday and excitedly proclaimed the face on my easel to be an EXACT likeness of Princess Alishetti Karika. What can I say ... clearly, either I'm incredibly intuitive or our story-writer is happy to finally see a clear image of her royal heroine.

I have a few more collage elements and Celtic interlace to add (must first learn how to draw those confounding knots), then I'll post a final image. Stay tuned!