"Great Grandma's Plaster Bust" (16"X12", Oil on Canvas, $450)
When I did this painting I was in a painting class and was doing this as my self-imposed bit of homework. The plaster bust in question belonged to my father's mother. She lived in Orange, CT, which is right next to New Haven. She had two plaster busts in the house: one of my father as a child and this one here. My father isn't too sure about whether the child's bust is actually of him and he's similarly doubtful about this one's origins. It may just be a store-bought piece, but I guess we'll never know.
It's quite well done and has a languid expression that I did my best to capture. I'll try again when I can get back to painting and I feel I'll be able to do better. The main reason being that I did three portraits of this bust as homework. This is the best one. I'll probably paint over the others, either to do this subject again or to do something else.
You can see the red paisley-patterned throw that I talked about in other posts being used again as a background and I loved painting it. Flowing fabrics are such a joy to paint, with their large shapes and subtle shadows. I also liked the fact that this red background warmed up the cool look of the plaster and added motion to the picture.
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