Alex in the gallery

I said that yesterday Alex and I were in the Gallery in Llandielo. In the morning I took my pochade box outside up to Parc Penlan.

In the afternoon it was spitting so I thought I would take advantage of the fact that Alex was motionless and paint her. It was quiet and it was a good way to pass the time. I am a clean painter so wasn't too bothered about getting anything on the carpet. I got a mental picture of how I wanted the finished work and set about blocking in with some Burnt Umber and French Ultramarine mixed with genuine turps. It took about 50 minutes so I suppose you can forgive Alex falling asleep, even then she managed to move but by then I had everything in position. Of course with this method of painting you can go on seamlessly refining and defining as much as you want. I was more or less happy with calling it a day at that point. I could I suppose have lessened the borders between subject and background particularly by darkening the left of the sitter. I may potch with the painting again who knows? They say a painting is never finished just abandoned.

I don't mind painting in a gallery I used to be artist in residence in a gallery and you would get people coming to chat all the time. There is no pressure painting like that, the same as painting outside.