Completed Ballerina Oil Painting

"Sophie"
2012
oil on canvas
20" x 20"

Today I completed the ballerina oil painting of Sophie. I thought it would need one more session, but I got to the point today where I was really happy with it, and knew it was done. :)

What a great and interesting process this has been. It is so different from any painting I've done before, and I'm very pleased with all I have learned while working on it.

The main things I did today was: glazing on the background - both the floor and the wall. I changed the colors, and added more lights and darks. I also worked a lot on the skirt, trying to make it appear to be more transparent again. I also put more colors into her hair - more blacks, and dark blues, with highlights of white to catch the light. Finally, I added a few more shadows here and there to give it all a little more depth and clarity.

I'm really thrilled to have finished this painting, and so happy with the final result.

Now, I need to figure out what to start painting next week. :)

As with my other paintings that I've done this year, here's the session-by-session progress. It helps me see, understand, and remember the process:

Session 1:


Session 2:


Session 3:


Session 4:


Session 5 (completed painting):