Untitled (work in progress)
Acrylic on canvas
18 x 24 inches
Barbara Muir © 2013
I was standing in my studio last week realizing thatlike my current hero Lucian Freud I have paintings
stacked against the wall that are in stages of completion.
When I don't like something I paint over it, but
when I can't decide what to do a canvas can linger.
I am so preoccupied most of the time with the current
project, that the wall flowers might have a long wait.
Last year I did a commission of a baby, and before
I got the painting that I knew was right I'd started
another one. The pose was a bit awkward, the face
wasn't delighted. It didn't seem right for my client,
so I put it against the wall and began a fresh canvas.
Long after the commission baby had gone home I
kept her other mood. Every now and then I'd pull
that canvas with its rough drawing and underpainting
out and think about it. But last week I was ready to
get working on the girl.
At first I thought the baby looked a bit like a Goya
I remember, but as I've kept on painting she
is becoming something all her own. I quite
like her, but she's not ready for viewing yet. So
I thought I'd just show you a detail. This is her
face, which I'm still working on. But it's almost
there.
Have a finishing-up-the-work day.
