Madonna coming along.....

Okay! - she's coming along.  There are quite a few things I need to tweak but the "big picture" is all in place.  I need to make her hands and her foot smaller and a bit more delicate.  The bottom portion with the foot had to be done in a seperate session because of how big the painting is .... I can't work the whole thing at once.   My husband -- (who loves this one by the way)- said - "why bother with the foot?  just make it easy on yourself and let the robes hang down."  I wanted the barefoot peeking out though - I think it lends her some vulnerability and something very real or revealed. 

When I pulled the painting together I noticed her hands looked too big.  As I often do, I actually compared the size of my own hands to the size of my face and realized indeed they were out of proportion.  (It is hard to see when you are working close up.)  I wondered how I went wrong but then I checked one of the Madonna paintings I was working off for proportion and I realized the artist also made Mary's hands too big.  I think it was Bellini ... I will have to double check.  Maybe I will show all the paintings I used as a reference in another blog.

One of the most important things to me is the emotion of the figures.  I have just about got her face where I want it...it is amazing how a brush stroke or two can change the whole expression...I just need to lend her a little peace but I like the knowing, youthfull, thoughtfull air she has.

Maybe, in my next post I will talk about how I did the background and the robes. 

Thanks for coming by!