Finally finished this oil painting. I've worked the canvas nearly to death. But learned so much in the process doing it that I didn't care that when you inspect the canvas closely you'll see the heavily worked areas. It was about learning to paint, so it was truly an exercise. Though I've still got improvements I would make, I need to move on. I'm least happy about the cut-off top of image, where the neck and shoulders meet. If I had it to do again, I would alter the position of the body just enough to at least show the curvature of the neck. Instead, I applied myself to the rendering of skin tones, working the surface again and again to achieve the tonalities I wanted. I've used both brush and palette knife to arrive at this final composition. Observe how dramatic the evolution; in the first image (below) the painting looks more impressionistic, not just in brush technique but in coloration. Some will say that the former stage of the painting has more appeal, for it has an impressionist lighting and coloration and feels less substantial. The completed painting, I believe, though less romantic in feeling then earlier stages, has an objectivity which I was striving to obtain.
