Second sight-size portrait

I have completed the second series of sittings in Joe Trigiani's class and this time he made it a little bit more difficult. This sitter wears glasses. Painting the eyes with glasses on is more difficult because the eyes are a key element (my opinion) of the personality of the sitter. It's not for nothing that they are referred to as the windows to the soul. In this instance, I painted what I could see of the darks and lights and then, towards the end, added some of the highlights and dark areas that "signal" that the wearer has glasses on, being careful not to "overpaint" a closed shape. The impression of the glasses is enough in a culture which is familiar with glasses.

As with the last painting, I am not entirely satisfied with the result, and feel that, if I had only had one more session, the result would have been better. But then who knows. I have known students who went way past the point they should have on a painting they were finishing, thus ruining something that communicated. There is a principle there. You want to employ the amount of technical skill required to communicate the message, No more. To attempt perfection may result in no communication. In any case, the "work of art" is a communication between artist and viewer. I feel it helps to leave something for the viewer to contribute. This principle is derived from my reading of the essay "Art" by L. Ron Hubbard.

Oh, another point about this painting that you might find of interest: There is a very orange reflection under the chin of the sitter. My husband felt my rendition was extreme. But, with the bright studio light turned full on her, the reflection of her red shirt under her chin was close to florescent. I swear it.