Red Again

Day after day, getting back to this painting of Red has eluded me.  Sometimes the reasons were good, but most of the time they weren't.  Underlying it all, I think, was reluctance to get back to such a difficult task.  But today I finally overcame my reluctance.

I am still working with my hard pastels.  When I finished for the day, I thought I was ready to proceed to the Rembrandts, but now that I look at the photo, I think I need to spend a little more time with the hard pastels - specifically the back foot and the crocheted throw.

I also see that the bit of gray fur in the upper left (her side) looks awkward, and dark patches are marching in a strange row down her chest - more things to correct before I go on to the Rembrandts.

When I started this painting Shelley remarked that doing the quilt would be fun, but I am finding it to be very trying.  The details are difficult for me with the pastel sticks without sharp points.  But also the colors are a challenge.  To simplify my task, I am using the actual colors and patterns of the fabrics and the actual placement of the patches.  Of course when I took the photo, I didn't pre-arrrange either for purposes of a painting, so I find myself wishing that it were different, but it's took late to change.  Also, the quilt colors are bright and it's important that they not "steal the show" from the cat.  And then the cat colors are so close to the ecru color of the crocheted throw underneath her.

As far as color goes, the painting is cut in half with bright exciting colors at the top and dull colors at the bottom.  And now I notice that there's a big block of blue in the upper right and a block of green in the upper left.  Perhaps if I emphasize this it will help make sense of the haphazardness of the elements of this painting.