Dark Note Painting

Half painting, half drawing, Dark Note is a portrait of an expanding form set on a cross-hatched background. There is a playful 'nod' to perspective, for in some viewings of the piece, I saw the note as a wall receding into the background. Working flat, I prepared the canvas with a layer of modelling paste and accepted the inconsistencies of the surface as a base to work upon. Sketching with dry-pastel the compositional form, I then worked the canvas vertically with black wax, blending and refining the marks with brush, cloths and finger-tips. A final hand polishing with my palms brought up a sheen which the varnish has preserved.