With the layer of white complete it was possible to start working on building shadow using a Raw Umber and some careful work with a soft rag. I put down paint in the shapes of the shadows I recognized in the folds of the fabric, then gently removed the paint so that the shadows faded from darkness to light. Because she’s so white the shadows look extremely high contrast, which will change when I build a pale grey layer over the top of what is already here.
I’m hoping to be able to finish this before next Wednesday, one week away, so I’d better get a move on! It’s pretty small, so I hope to be able to pull it off.
Mike’s going to put together a brochure including the four big new paintings so that I can have it sent out as promotional material. I’m looking forward to seeing the paintings in print. It will give me a foretaste of how they might look in my book on tarot cards, which I’m slowly working at, being a third of the way into it so far.
On the right I’ve added a picture of the Dodal deck Star card to provide some context for the image of a maiden pouring water from a jug. In most of the Marseille decks she appears in a similar pose, while in the earlier Visconti Sforza deck we find her holding a star aloft, with water jugs conspicuously absent.
