A Provocative Pose

We drove down to Scottsdale on the Friday before I came home to attend an open studio at the Scottsdale Artists School that lasted five hours. Three hours in the morning and another two after lunch. We had free tickets for the model session, which normally costs $15.00 for the entire day.

It was very crowded in the morning but most of the locals didn't come back after lunch so we had more freedom to move around. There was a lot of discussion about how best to set up the light in the morning. With so many people packed into the room it was not easy to find a place that didn't shine the light in an artist's eyes. Somehow they came up with a 'lit from below' design, which gave the woman an almost malevolent gaze. The lighting, in combination with the tight red dress and the riding whip really created atmosphere. I loved the opportunity to actually finish a painting in one session and it was interesting to try the blue underpainting I worked with in Nancy's workshop. I was a little surprised when I finished and looked around. No one else had even tried to get her entire figure on the canvas --some people had even left the riding crop completely out.

I'm pretty sure no one from the Hyter Group back home would have missed the chance to paint the entire figure. We relish our costumed models.

I call her "The Dominatrix"

16" x 2o" oil on canvas