The only pure communication. . .

"The only pure communication is between you and your work."  This quote is from the small book, Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.  Often I pick this book up to very ceremoniously (with eyes closed) open it to "just any page" for a timely revelation sent from the universe - and just as often I find one! 

To say I've struggled with this last painting is an understatement.  Recreating a painting from an original that was painted some sixty-odd years ago would be daunting enough, but sadly this original was damaged in a house fire.  The bright side is that all has been "righted" and repaired since the fire, but this charming little painting was practically unrecognizable.  There were attempts at cleaning but to no avail.  There was no chance of knowing what the underlying skin tone was or where shadows were appropriately found/lost, where exactly the edges were, let alone discerning a light source. . .what to do, where to start?

Challenge being my middle name, I began the portrait by drawing what I thought I was seeing. . .then slowly over a couple of weeks I refined areas where I guessed at a likeness.  Measurements were of paramount importance, as they are in any portrait, and they were taken ad nauseam.  Naturally, it must be taken into account that I am not the original artist. . .how I see and how I paint are different indeed, as it should be.  I also made the image a little larger because of the non-standard canvas size of the original. . .after client consultation I painted truer-to-natural color eyes versus the ringed doll like ones.  And finally I took the liberty of putting in a dark, layered background. . .a hallmark of my own.

And that's where I learned a valuable lesson with this work. . . my opening statement, the quote from Art and Fear.  I can obsess over the acceptance and approval of my client to a nail biting end, or I can finally say I gave it my best and this is the result.  I couldn't leave it alone until I personally felt that sense of completion and could leave the outside world to it's own observations. . .what mattered in the end was the "pure communication between me and my work."

Jimmy . 16" x 12" . oil on panel