The Artist at Work

Stan and Ann came out from the city this afternoon so that we could visit the Nassau County Museum of Art, where there was an exhibit of Modigliani portraits, along with portrait examples from a number of other artists.  There was a woman artist at work in the first gallery, doing a portrait from memory, I believe.  As a fund raising project for the museum, you could commission her to do a portrait of you, and some of the money would go to the museum.  I was fascinated, watching the way she worked, in particular because she held the brush a long way from the metal ferrule that holds the bristles.  So I asked her a few questions as she painted, and realized that I wanted to do a quick portrait of her.  I asked if that was OK and she said it would be fine.  I was taken, first, that she was painting in an elegant black dress, instead of in an artist's smock.  The other thing was her wonderful profile, and the gentle curve of her arm.  So I did a few images and then started talking to her again.  Then I realized that I had kind of missed the point.  So I said I wanted to do just a few more, and this time I backed up. What is wonderful I thought was the contrast of how she was dressed, with her surroundings, particularly the white drop cloth on the floor.  So I am glad I didn't stop photographing her after this first image.  My favorite, when I was all done, is this vertical image which has so much more information about her surroundings.