Art flow overrides blocked head flow

I don't get colds very often...maybe one or two a year, which I suppose is the average for most people. I always think there's not a lot you can do but get on with it, as the cold will run its course. I'll take various medications, to help it along its way, and take good care of myself in the meantime with hot baths, early nights, hot lemon and honey drinks, and eating well (based on the old adage of "feed a cold and starve a fever" which has probably been long since proven to be nonesense, but it makes me feel better) and trying not to do anything that makes me feel any worse.

But I am also aware that some things still have to be done.

Like, commissions for people, when there's a deadline involved. And when that deadline is looming ever closer. ... .. .. .. ..... ..

The commission I'm working on at the moment is a pencil drawing of a naked woman, looking at herself in a full length mirror.  So, technically, its two drawings of her - the front view, and the back view. But they have to interact with each other, and look like it's one woman reflected at herself, and not two seperate women who are not interconnected. I know like I'm saying the bleeding obvious, but for the drawing to work, that shouldn't occur to anyone looking at it, but if it doesn't work, then it will scream loud and clear at anyone viewing it! And just to add to the difficulty of this drawing, I did a drawing of her whilst she was in my hosue last week, at night-time, and took accompanying photos to help me to continue the drawing after she had gone home. BUT, the finished drawing is to be set in her bedroom (which I've never been in) in daylight. And the mirror has to be her mirror, not my mirror, and since she felt uncomfortable being naked infront of me, and wouldn't totally disrobe whilst she was with me,  she kept her rather large knickers on, whilst she posed for me. So, I've got to draw her - in daylight, in her bedroom, fully naked, infront of her mirror, but looking like she looked in my bedroom, at night-time with the light iluminating her differently, wearing knickers.

Ok, this is going to be a difficult one.

And yesterday I knew I had to start the drawing of her, because time is ticking nearer to the deadline.

But, I've got a cold.

Ok, but you're still going to have to start the picture, I told myself.

And, so you know what was so totally unexpected?

The drawing that I did yesterday was better than the drawing I did last week of her when I was fully fit and healthy.

Er, how did that happen then?

.......the minute I picked up my drawing pencil, I forgot I had a cold. The picture went well, from the very beginning, and although I was only doing the pencil outline, it looked great. I left it a couple of hours later, knowing that it was a good start. The minute I put the pencil down I felt slightly low with cold again, and was glad to have a quiet night, and early to bed.

This morning, the same thing. The minute I picked up my pencil I felt fine, the drawing worked, its looking really great, I could do all the mental planning that I had to for this slightly complicated drawing using various source material (some of which she had sent to me) to create something that has never existed in real life, but I have to make it look effortlessly like it has done (being of the woman naked in her bedroom, in the morning, looking in the full length mirror).

So, how does that work then?

I've no idea, but it does do! Thank goodness.

AND, the drawing looks better than the one I did when she was standing infront of me!

When even my laid back sympathetic open mindedness isn't enough

She googled "Artists in Staffordshire" and my name came up.

I'm still not quite sure why, since I don't live in Staffordshire.

But, nevermind, work is work, and I know people find me from various places.

She chose me because she bought the house she currently lives in from someone also called Adshead, and the name seemed familiar to her.

She found my artwork on another site and liked what she saw.

We spoke a couple of weeks ago and she told me what she wanted.

A drawing of herself, in the nude, but discreet. As a present for her husband to celebrate their first year of marriage since Paper is the wedding anniversary gift for one year.

What a wonderful gift, I told her. Ideal, and different, and totally apt!

She came to my house yesterday to discuss it further. And to pose for me.

I showed her other pictures I had done, of other women in the nude. I talked about my huge experience. I talked about past drawings and paintings I had done of other people. I talked of the reasons why they wanted their particular pictures doing. I talked about nervous people I had drawn who felt afterwards that it was therapeutic to be drawn by me. I talked about my various and many experiences. I talked about how open minded I was. I talked about how used to seeing naked people I was. I talked about the fact that naked people are the same as a vase of flowers/bottle of milk/house in my world and I treat them all as objects to be drawn regardless of what they are. I talked about the fact that all women look beautiful. I talked about being comfortable in your own skin. I talked about all manner of things to make her feel relaxed.

But none of them were enough.

She just wasn't happy taking all her clothes off for me.

To be able to draw her.

Which made the fact she wanted a nude drawing of herself slightly more difficult to achieve.

But......

She is happy to send me photos of herself. In the nude.

Which helps enormously.

But in a way I feel I've let her down somehow.

Because, I've never had this happen to me before.

I can usually calm people with their experience of posing nude for me.

They find it a positive and uplifting experience and feel happier within themselves that they have taken that difficult and challenging step to disrobe and pose for me.

But, this one didn't.

Here she is!

Here it is - the unveiling, at long last! You've waited a long time to see her, but I wanted her to be right before I showed her to you.

As I said recently, I wasn't happy with the original acrylic painting that I did a couple of years ago. It just wasn't "right" somehow although I couldn't work out the reason why until only a few weeks ago, it was just an undefined feeling about it. So, I decided I had to change it because I couldn't live with it in the state it was in! The decision was made - it needed to be overpainted in oils. Big decision, but certainly the RIGHT one, because as you can see in the new painting, it is SOOOOOOOO much better for that change! I've put both paintings here so that you can see the difference, and even I am amazed at the difference in the two paintings of the same subject matter. Whereas the acrylic painting is harsh and has sharp colours and tones, the oil painting is just so much softer both in colour and tone, and in blending the paint. The woman blends into the background better, and is so more softly sensual for being in oils. She oozes sensuality for me now. Her skin colour and tone is far more realistic. Her breast has more weight and shape to it, the nipple is more the focal point and is aching to be caressed, I love the line down her spine and particularly I love the soft shadow at the top of the crack of her bum. Her buttocks are round and inviting, and I ADORE the lost and found edges of her right arm, the way it merges in the soft light of the background and disappears behind that gorgeous curve of her back. I much prefer her hair in this picture, its more realistic, and the way you can JUST see her fingers under the hair as she runs her fingers appealingly through it. And you probably can't see from this photo but there are subtle fine splatters of white paint around her bum, her hair, and her right arm, so the viewer is aware that there is a little movement there, she's just shifting slightly on her legs which has moved her bum abit, so then you think well what's that right hand doing, the one you can't see fully. What's she up to? And is that why she's moved her bum, shifting her weight on her folded legs. Is that ........why................?

And that is one of the reasons I've renamed the painting too. It was originally called "Without a care" because the thought was the woman in the painting was "carefree" but now it's not enough of a title. I wanted a different one, a better one, one that summed up her voluptuous temptress pose and after a while I came up with the new title - it's "Naked desire" and I much prefer it as it's far more ambiguous!

Well, I for one think she's gorgeous (but then I'm biased!!) ........what do you think?