When it fits on a postage stamp

 

 

When I introduced my new series titled "East Side Storeys," I barely mentioned my two personal goals:-- first, to celebrate some of the charming old houses that still prevail on this side of town, and second, to get back in the groove again with figures and faces.  I have a long way to go on these.

 

I'd realized pretty quickly that, in the style I envision, I wasn't going to fit a whole house on an 18x24" canvas.

 

 

And when I returned to spruce up the piece post-publication, I had to admit that there just wasn't enough face-space on my subject to develop a believable "portrait."  Moral:  If it fits on a postage stamp, it's not big enough for portrait practice.

 

Okay.  I kept that in mind as I decided to hone in on the features that first caught my eye on East Side houses – the stained-glass details, like this small vertical window:

 

Should I aim for just a slice of the house?

 

Or go in close and have someone standing on the stairs beneath?

 

 

 

I tried some possibilities in my sketchbook and decided on a very close view of the window, with the daughter of a friend right in front.

 

 

Turquoise was my choice for the underpainting, and then I began with the lightest lights on the face.  I had drawn just a few lines to frame the window and realized immediately that, of course, straight lines and square corners would be very important –0r something bad could happen:

 

You remember The Crooked Man, don't you?  Read here for the back-story.

 

At my mid-point, things hadn't toppled over:--

 

 

And here's the final:  "Continuum – 1910 to 2025" (East Side Storeys – copyright 2025)

(Final for now, but I think this might need some touch-ups tomorrow).

 

 

Now, just a little late for Valentine's Day, is a truly grand finale.  This amaryllis wouldn't fit on a postage stamp either, but it's been glorious on my windowsill – with its final 8 of 12 flowers just about to fade.