“Sharon at 18,” a portrait. 

Acrylic, collage, mixed media, charcoal, found papers, joint compound  on 18″x24″ canvas.

After I finished the last canvas, “Nyx,”  I really needed to loosen up and just paint whatever came into my head without worry about proportions, lighting, corrections.  I began this yesterday by gluing down odd pieces of paper including some copies of other completed pieces.  I gessoed over the papers and painted in some background color – still not really knowing where it was going.  I knew the hand in the upper right corner would be important.  I went back to the backgrounds late last night and drew in a profile with a charcoal pencil, then I added some outline hair.  I began filling in the profile, with white, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, payne’s gray, phthalocyanine blue, and burnt umber.    I worked fast and tried not to think too much about what I was doing.

Near the finish of the painting I “saw” the hand with a lifeline attached and this led to the image of a house, which I think of as a symbol for the soul.  I called it “Sharon at 18,” someone who is always in the background of my mind.