Martha Jill

                                                Acrylic on canvas          Artist's Collection          16"H x 20"W            I     

                                                                                 Click on image for detail views.    

I did several versions of this portrait of Martha, painting one over the next until finally this one felt right.  The original idea was to do a "cartoon" kind of portrait.  But I kept finding it difficult to loosen up and just let go, just let the brush and the color flow.  Which surprised me since the drawing I was working from was actually very simple, very cartoon outline-like, and very close to this version.  (I've included that drawing in the detail views.)  Anyway, after struggling with this off and on for months and months, one morning I just grabbed the canvas and reworked it start to finish in one day.  It's brushy and rough but it brings a smile every time I look at it - I think "Damn! That's not bad, that's Martha Jill!"