Rhia 1 /Rhia with Yellow Chair

Top:  Rhia 1, 24x30, oil on panel

Bottom:  Rhia with Yellow Chair, 28 x 22, oil on panel

OK, so I am taking a life drawing class....I hated figure drawing in college...maybe because it was at 8 in the morning?  Whatever, but I have never liked figure drawing, all the while totally believing that it is a necessary foundation for any artist.  Ok, so I thought I would force myself to pay for the class and endure it.  Lo and behold, I really love this class.  Go figure (pun not intended).  The next step is unavoidable for me, and that is putting those drawings to canvas and adding paint.  What is a painting anyway but drawing with a brush, and then 'pushing' it with color?  So, here we go...it is a learning curve, to be sure, and there is much to learn.  I know, for example, that I have taken liberties with the hands and feet in these two paintings of Rhia...and, frankly, also in the thighs...she is very thin...I never aspired to be a realist, but I would like to get the gesture and the feeling commuted from my eyes/hand to the paper or canvas...so we will see how that goes.  Feel free to comment positive or negative, I am open to all opinions.  Thanks for looking!

If you have interest in purchasing these or other works, please contact me.