Female Figure Seated in a Chair with Orange Drapery. New Acrylic Painting from the Live Model

I've been working with acrylics the last few weeks while completing a portrait painting commission, so last night I grabbed the paints that were handy my brushes and a 9" x 12" panel to take to our weekly figure drawing group.

For our long pose, the model perched on a chair and footrest that were draped with black fabric.  This was a great contrast for her pale skin tone.

I blocked in the large shapes first, trying to cover the white surface before establishing her skin tones.  I could already tell that there was going to be too much black in the piece, dominating the figure.  So when we took a break, I added in a piece of patterned orange drapery.

I continued to block in color, and also changed the position of her leg on our left.  It was actually stretched out, with the foot coming right at me, which seemed really awkward.  I haven't resolved it completely yet.  There may be some added drapery down by her foot.

This is as far as I got last night, a total of about 90 minutes of painting from the model.  I think proportions are good, and there is a good feeling of her weight leaning on her elbow.  I'd like to work more on her profile, add the rest of the pattern in the orange drapery, and finalize her right foot.

Working quickly with acrylics can have it's plusses - the layers dry quickly during breaks, easy to clean up.  But last night they were drying very quickly, and I was mixing more than painting.  I recommend small surfaces if you are painting with Acrylic from the Live model.