Katie, 18"x14", oil on linen

My plan was to capture Katie's strong profile—her pale red skin against the deep blue-green background.

So I positioned myself in a perfect profile spot. But while I went upstairs for a minute just before the beginning of the session, some students in the group decided to turn her head slightly. In some ways, that little bit off the profile worked well to give just enough sense of the unseen side of her head. What turned out to be more interesting to me was a curiously slight lift of her chin forward as if she were engaged in intense listening.