Capturing the Conversation on Canvas

A few weeks back I worked with a new (to me) model, (E.) and thought she was fantastic.  She had wonderful gesture poses and great stage presence - she reminded me a lot of one of my other favorite models (C.).  In fact half way thru out modeling session I started thinking "I have to get E. and C. together!"

So I scheduled both of these lovely ladies for a special Sunday afternoon modeling session.  I had in my mind that I wanted them in some light slip dresses, so I brought in two with similar colors, but not too "matchy".  After a few 5 minute warm-up poses, they settled into this conversational pose on the couch.

I was painting over an old painting - which I love doing because there's already some color and texture on the surface to play with.

I tried to keep it loose and blocked in the larges shapes of light and shadow, focusing on getting the right proportions and relationship between the two girls.

After blocking in some cool grays and dark browns, I moved into fleshy oranges.

The light changed a little as the afternoon went on, but luckily it was an overcast day and there wasn't a strong window light that dramatically moved across the room.

I'm very happy with the pose - the two girls were chatting the entire time, so the painting captured that energy - they were amazing at holding the pose but also engaging with each other - and I think that translated onto the canvas.  The model on the left feels like she is just sitting down, not stagnant and posed.

While there are some color adjustments to be made, I don't want to get much tighter with this piece.  I love the atmosphere and painterly quality.  I will post the final result...soon? we'll see!