Meeting in the Garden

Meeting in the Garden
Acrylic on masonite, 7x5

I chose this subject matter today because it contains three figures, interacting with each other, in a sun drenched garden setting.  So, not only am I studying the figures, but also the light pouring in - and I’m using the limited acrylic palette to do it.  This painting is small, only 7x5 inches, so the question remains - how loosely do I render features?  I feel they should be loose, especially as the landscape work is impressionistic.  Yet, I want the figures easily read, by gesture as well as values.  In principal, I should be able to merely suggest features and the eye will do the rest.  I will just need to paint more of these, and find my own preferences as to defining the face no more than a half inch square!  Painting number 1164 in 1164 days.

initial block in