You'll know by now that people-watching, for me, is a prime spur to painting. I try not to stare, but I'm constantly observing facial features and I'm fascinated by 21st century clothing and haircuts. Until the imposition of Home Alone restrictions, my trips by transit were rich hunting ground for interesting subjects.
Riding the Canada Line in February, my eye locked on an elfin-featured young woman:-- sleek eccentric hair (red!), loose jacket and scarf flowing to mid-thigh of tights, fashionable Blundstone boots. But more than these! She was reading a book. And not just any book -- Tolstoy's "War and Peace."
In the throng, we got off at the same stop, exiting the car elbow-to-elbow. I couldn't stop myself from saying, "You are reading the greatest novel ever written." Her eyes lit up, "Yes, yes! And it's hard -- but I'm almost finished." "I saw that -- I'm so happy you're reading it." "It's wonderful!" she said -- and we went our separate ways, smiling from the brief exchange.
At home, I made a quick note in my sketchbook and started to mull over how to turn it into a painting: "The Girl Who Reads Tolstoy"
The very next week, riding the line in a different direction, I was astonished to see a different young woman ...not reading a book, but standing in a helpful pose that I surreptitiously caught on my cell camera. Hey -- it was in the cause of great art, right?
After some thumbnail sketches of possible compositions, I decided to play like the big kids and do some formal studies. My first focussed on the redhead's face and book, which I began like this:
Then I pulled some 8x10" pieces from my abundant cardboard stash and tried some possible compositions for the scene. If you mentally sketch in the full figures of the seated passengers in this one, you'll see they'd have to be sitting cross-legged on the floor!
And this scene, while less crowded than a typical run to the airport, had too much happening of too little consequence:
Simpler is better, I decided, as I pulled out a small canvas and set to work on The Real Thing:
Or so I thought. I don't know whether I'm on a downward trend or have become more exacting (or both), but after a lot of poking and prodding, I reached this stage and called it quits:
So I'm left with the first study in its completed state:--
...along with a few deficient mini-studies, a blue-painted canvas (obliterating the scene that didn't work), my trusty sketchbook full of ideas, and a very nice memory of a vivid young woman discovering Tolstoy.
No transit trips for a while, as we all sit tight, but I'm sticking to my resolution to take a daily walk. There are fewer people en route, sometimes with heads down, sometimes wearing masks, but it's a fruitful time and space for mulling things over and planning next steps.
