wicked

I do not typically get frightened at scary movies.  I am much too cynical for them.  The wicked witch of the east did make an impression on me.  I can still see her flying on the bike past Dorothy's house during the tornado.  Scary stuff.  For some reason I kept thinking of her while I was painting this. Maybe it is the black bike.

I included the photo that was my inspiration for this painting.  A good example of how the photo is just a jumping off point.  I made several changes as I got into the panting.  It was hard faking the front of the bike that was hidden by the bench.  I pulled up some other pictures of bikes from the side to help.  Still not sure about that part.  I originally painted her shirt white and her bag straw.  It was not working for me so I changed it.  One thing that is risky in this painting is how close to the center of the painting the red and white bag are.  I still think it works.  this is painted on an 11 x 14 x 2" canvas.

I am having a workshop at my home in a couple of weeks and we are focusing on working from photos.  The pros and cons.  I know there are some out there who think you should always paint from life and not photos.  I am not that fast of a painter.  This lady was going very fast.  

My workshop is full but email me if you are interested and I can put you on the waiting list or let you know about the next one I will do in January or February.