Dear Alex

This is such a lovely piece! Regardless of whether it is symbolic or not, to my mind it is a leader in figurative painting today. It is a painting that looks so confident and masterful and says that the artist knows exactly what she is doing! I love the richness in the muted colours. It gives a warmth to the room and the mood. And, as everyone else has said, your composition is wonderful - daring but balanced at the same time. A really impressive piece and another example of how splendidly talented you and your whole family is. What a rich life you must all have, and have had.

Thomasin,

Thank you--your appreciation of this painting means a lot. The color scheme is very different from yours, but that's what makes looking at other artists' work so interesting. I'm convinced people actually see colors differently or at least react to them differently. I couldn't for the life of me paint with the colors you choose, but that's why your paintings are so fascinating to me. All those chromatic changes within a very small value range! When I try to paint without light and shadow (on a cloudy day, for instance) I am not very successful. I do love dramatic lighting like the light in this painting. I used to exaggerate the contrast because I loved it so. It took me years to tone it down to a believable value range.

Alexandra, what a fabulous painting! You must be very happy with this one. So exciting to look at! The action, intensity and interaction are all wonderful. The color and composition- dynamic!

...wow. :)

christy

Thanks so much, Christy! People who come in my studio have noticed it and liked it, so I thought I would post it here. I can't tell you (and everyone else) how much I appreciate your comments. As I said at first, I haven't done much figurative work, and it varies from figures in a landscape to more dominant figures in a setting. I'm still just experimenting.

One frustrating thing is that many galleries are not interested in showing figurative art--it is not consistent with their image. Yet figurative art is becoming very popular in certain segments of the art world. In New York, it sells extremely well in galleries that lean more towards "traditional realism," but I'm hoping that more "contemporary realist" galleries will start showing it, too. Really, it seems silly to distinguish between "traditional" and "contemporary" realism because there are so many varieties in-between, and several movements in realist art are coming together in an exciting way.

I agree with all the complements that have been given to this painting, but what I really love is how well you have captured the feeling of an artistic "moment". We have all walked into a room or turned a corner on a road and glimpsed a view where everything was right, the light, the forms, the mood. All too often it is only a fleeting sense of what could have been a great painting. You were lucky and talented enough to see it and put down. Well done.

Vianna Szabo

Vianna, thank you! I think the point you make about recognizing an artistic moment and putting it down is what art is all about. Sometimes (often) a concept starts with just such a moment and develops in my head, and sometimes it starts in my head and really takes off when I happen to see something in life. I take your point as a reminder to be more aware, to carry my camera around, to not say, "Oh, well, I'll come back another day and try to recreate that."

Here is a beauty I missed while playing nurse.

What an elegant composition. I love the dramatic swoop of the harp. One wonderful touch, I think is quite enchanting and brings it right into the 21th century is the young man's bare feet under the sheet music holder.

Beautiful brushwork as usual and a stunning design.

Thank you, Sharon! Your words mean a lot.

Alex, this is lovely. I've been so busy this summer I've missed some gorgeous work. I like the intensity of the boy's face and the spatial tension between the two figures, as well as your wonderful brush strokes.

Thanks, Julie! It's nice to hear from you. I understand what it's like to be busy. Time seems to pass all too quickly. So I really appreciate that you took the time to make such a nice comment. Hope all is well with you.