April Nude, oil 14" x 11"

This photo of April was shared on the Alla Prima Portland Facebook site by Khanh N. Huynh for our inspiration, and I was inspired!  If orange is the happiest color, is she happy or blue?  She looks a bit cold to me, maybe I should have given her a shawl?  The next one will be warmer!

Figure drawing & painting

There are several places to draw and paint from figures in Portland, and on Sunday I went to PNCA (Portland Northwest College of Art). The model, Gabrielle, is an opera singer and performance artist and that showed in the drama of her poses. I sketched in ink on paper for the one and two minute poses, then switched to acrylic on a 14" x 18" canvas for the long pose, about two hours. She wore a hat, tall boots and knit fingerless gloves. This is not a romantic nude, but that's the way I saw her!