The Veranda - Gathering Ideas

Sometimes I can't post a new painting every other day, because it takes longer than a couple of days to finish a painting, especially if it's large. So I thought, why not post the progress of a painting as I create it? Hmmmmm - could be interesting! Or not! Let's just see.

 So here we go. I've always been fascinated by Persian and Indian miniature paintings of the 6-7th century AD, and when I came across these paintings (above), I decided to paint a modern equivalent of the same theme, a lovelorn woman waiting for the return of her beloved. I'm going to utilize the ancient techniques of shifting perspective points, flat planes and decorative elements to imitate the style of a miniature painting while still maintaining a contemporary outlook.

 Here's some scrap I've found to help me create this painting:

Here's the study, a very loose photo sketch put together in Photoshop. The grid lines will help me as I sketch it onto my 40" x 30' panel:

I used the headdress of the first miniature painting in place of the towel, and I also reduced the size of her hands and feet, although maybe not quite enough to be as exaggerated as I was envisioning. And we single gals, we love our kitty cats!