Natalie, 18"x14" oil on canvas

I started this painting with a watercolor-like wash of green, just enough to suggest the background color. Because of the massive and free-flowing hair that hid much of the contour of her head, I decided the painting was best approached with a mass block-in rather than a precise line drawing. So, first, I laid down the large shape of her dark hair, then I moved on with other large shapes of light and dark.

The painting seems to reflect her expression of awkwardness from posing for the first time in front of an attentive crowd of painters.