Portrait and Figure Studio, Oct. 11, 2012

As usual, we started with a few quick warm-up sketches. I am working with Atelier Interactive artists' acrylic. These acrylics dry slower than traditional acrylics which enables me to do mixing on the painting in a more leisurely fashion.

Five minutes...8 inches by 11.75 inches

Three minutes...5 inches by 11 inches. I added the raised leg after the three minutes were up but didn't add the chair she was resting it on.

Four minutes...8 by 11

This is the model posing. Since she holds the pose for a half hour without a break, we encouraged her to find a comfortable position.

Here is the painting after the first half hour. I've blocked in the primary shapes.

After the second half hour...I've refined some of the shapes and added a little detail. I added a bit of background, also.

Another half hour...I continued adjusting and adding details. I darkened the back wall so the model's profile would show up better...and decided I didn't like the results.

It was time to pack up for the day so I decided to spend one more session with this painting at home. I played around with the background and the floor, adding the shadow on it. I printed off an enlarged photo of the model's head and shoulders so I could add a little detail to her face.

This painting is painted on a canvas panel, 12 inches by 16.