Ithe dinner party, 38x40” oil on portrait linen
3:23 PM: i made some tweaks to the dinner party, which i had thought was resolved. yesterday before leaving the studio, i took out the sculptures on the right side of the composition and replaced them with a mirror, which is reflecting the backs of the 3 women guests. today i broke up the solid blues of the sweaters of the two men at either end of the table, gave the woman on the upper right her right arm & filled her plate with food….lots of small but significant stuff that has resulted in a more coherent composiiton. as well, the woman in the red dress no longer looks as if her nipple is popping out. and i love that the light blue shape on the very lower left is so crucial to the entire composition.
i’ve never had this experiencce before, but every so often the question entered my consciousness: “what would bonnard do here?”
time to wrap up & go back to the house & lie down. see y’all tomorrow.
BELOW: before (left) & after
12:02 PM: mother & child at space became mosaic yesterday, and this morning i painted over it with brilliant yellow oils and will wait a day or two till the paint dries to make my next move.
in the mean time, i think i’ll make some tweaks to the dinner party, following some observations by mikela yesterday when she came over to have a look.
i already implemented one of her suggestions. the sculptures on the wall on the right side of the composition, which were bothering me too before she even said anything, have become a mirror, reflecting the backs of the 3 women sitting and having dinner. of course i had to make that up, since of course the photos i shot back in 2016 didn’t include any rear views.