Barefoot Ballerina
16 x 20
Oil on Raymar Panel
$300.00
Here is my initial sketch. I have been trying to sketch every night and it is paying off...I only had to reposition her once to get her where I want her on the canvas.
I have a large easel and working with panels used to prove to be a challenge...BUT not since I got my award winning Alter Easel from Karin Jurick. It holds my smaller panels securely and you can see I am using it here! I just love it! I also have the table top version.
Commercial is over....on with the show...
Here I have blocked in the colors and I want to make sure I like where everything is. The colors let me really see what I am doing. The leg placement and angle bother me...
Here I am refining more, checking the features on the face and the placement of the legs. I am not happy with the legs so I scooted the knee towards the center of her body so she looks cozier. I exaggerated the angle of the arm that is down and snuggled it into her body more to give her a huggable look. I wanted her nestled into the side of the canvas.
A few years ago, repositioning anything on the canvas would fill me with fear and trepidation. While watching one of Susan Carlin's online demo's she mentioned that a leg was too far down on her canvas. She simply swiped across bottom and added a bit to the top and within a few seconds the positioning was perfect! Such an elementary solution to what I would have thought was a drastic change. So, taking a page from Susan's book, I moved things around pretty effortlessly.