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    The next time "ripe plums are falling" appears, she'll be done. I'm not planning on a heavy in paint on the background of this one, I want the drapery to stay transparent.  A few notes going forward;  I used Arches Cover for the substrate of this one, and find that it did not lay down as flat as either Rising Stonehenge of Rives BFK.  The take away is to order a new roll of Rives today so that it will be here before the start of the semester in the studio.

    Working on these large pieces  (She's 54" x 42", which makes her as a seated figure substantially smaller than the standing figures) comes with a set of logistical challenges that a small canvas doesn't present.  The first is how and where to work on them, and given the bare eight feet of ceiling in my studio, and no clear eight foot walls,  (one paints with the studio one has, not the studio one dreams of, but the bottom line is: one paints.) I'm pretty well stuck with working on them at school, with that studio's temperamental HVAC system, bad light, lack of sink, etc. to contend with.  Not to mention that I have to get dressed in presentable attire to drive on to campus, instead of padding about barefoot in a pair of boxer shorts here on the homefront...

     Then, there's the matter of how to safely dry and then store huge pieces.  For those of you who've not gone the lifesize route, I'm going to recommend giving it a go at least once, just to get a feel for the sea change that takes place on this scale.  Everything changes.  When the work is not of a tuck under one's arm size, it truly has a life of it's own.  I'm not even going to think about what in the heck I'm going to do with them after the thesis show comes down next summer because I fear it would hamper my forward momentum to consider anything that practical!

    All that being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the group of them coming together, and am looking forward to seeing each and every subject emerge from the surface during the coming months- the life size aspect gives them a truly companionate character. Next up- "The Persistence of Art History"  and the first of  "The Garden, the Wall", panels.  The latter will be at least a three parter.

Some days go exactly the way one has dreamed they would in the studio.  A good day's work is pure grace.

As the thesis process moves along and the effort becomes focused, I'm finding myself face to face with ideas that have scooted around in the corners of my life for quite some time.  Bit by bit and piece by piece the puzzle is coming together and I'm finding that I've had most of it all along, and if I can't lay my hands on it directly, I have a pretty good idea of where to start looking.

I like it.  I must admit that it feels like an indulgence, another example of a Catholic girl gone bad, but I don't think there's another way to accomplish this with any kind of integrity.

So- yesterday I lay down the drawing for the next painting "ripe plums are falling/ the bride", and though about how nicely the dots connected.  I'd painted the subject before as a misguided color study (she was purple) and I knew that there was more to it than that.  When she agreed to sit for me again I was thinking about transparency, but when I reviewed the references I was struck by how bridelike she was, that, and how much gravitas attended her person.  (Thank-you again, Rhonda, for letting me take a good look at you.) I heard the refrain from one of my favorite poems chime "ripe plums are falling, now there are but three"  and knew that that was what the painting would be about, mantis in the hair and all.