Oksana in Black, 12x16

Oksana....
....is the sister of a good friend.  She is one of those people with a changeable face and her emotions are fairly transparent.  I look forward to the times I get to paint her, this being the third or fourth.

Each time with her I have used a different palette and approach.  This day I kept it extra limited, using Cad Yellow Light (Utrecht...which is more like a cad  Yellow medium), Naphthol Red, Rose Madder Permanent and Black....plus Titanium White (Graham because it is so buttery and delicious to spread around).  The limited choices let me concentrate on values and brushwork instead of color.

Originally from Russia, Oksana has that stereotypical spirit and fire about her.  She takes on life in full force....and in a very pleasant way.

The first painting represents her calm 'posing' spirit but as the session went on I could see her energy building (she can only sit still so long) and, since there were two twenty minute poses remaining I grabbed a different panel and went for 'attitude'.

This was a very fast piece, fairly crude in application and likeness....but it does get the attitude.  So the first was about two hours to do and the second forty minutes.

And here is a photo her sister posted on Facebook of the setup.  We are in the studio of Millard (Mick) Davidson and the array of beautiful paintings behind Oksana are all his....and only one wall of a large area.

Thanks for looking.....