Another Try at Meti

We have our model pose for four weeks so sometimes you end up doing 2-3 versions of the same person. Meti is very beautiful and exotic so I don't mind in her case. She is able to hold a pleasant expression and her silk scarf is fun to paint. On other occasions we have had the same person for five weeks and by the 4th and 5th week attendance is way down as we are all tired of painting and drawing that person. With Meti - it is different. She is truly different and inspiring. I see this common reaction to her among the other artists who attend my group as well.

In any case I decided to do a drawing of Meti last week. I rarely draw anything anymore except for layouts or thumbnails to decide on a composition. So this was a relaxing day, just sketching values in and trying to get a likeness. The charcoal pencil is slower than painting but easier to control.

When I was finished with my drawing I used the drawing plus a photo I took of her to create a small 8" x 10" painting at home. This piece had a quite different feel to it than the first one I did because I concentrated on creating a good composition from the very beginning. It also doesn't really look like Meti but at this point I was more concerned with capturing the light and shadow than I was in getting a likeness.

This is a good example of why we need to paint or draw things that inspire us. Inspiration equals motivation and motivation gets the concept off the ground.