18x24 | Oil on Panel

Week 49

When Laert began working on the background, I jumped on the chance to do the red velvet cape. If you know me, I find red irresistible like a hummingbird ...or vampire. My goal was to accomplish the fabric in the longest strokes possible.  And then leave them alone! I fantasized about some masters paintings where one stroke is an entire fold of fabric. The crimson emboldened me. Working surprisingly quickly and without head drama, I moved seamlessly from the velvet into the warm cotton fabric of the dress. 

With the sheer number of pieces completed in such a short time, they run together, but not in a way as though forgotten or muddled. It's like each builds on one another, lending their hands,  their insight and soul to the next. The fabric of each woman and boy is in these strokes, each forest and flower in the wooded surrounding. 

As the cool air brushes her little cheeks, warm breath escapes her mouth. Perched on her favorite branch, it becomes the crows nest in a pirate ship. It is the time for dreaming.