The painting had got a lot darker, the lips and nose have been defined more. The streaks of hair had got broader (not a successful move!), moved further down the forehead towards the eyes (which does anchor the hair onto the head better), and across the neck a bit.

I'd lost the light, delicate feel I had in the previous stage. The downturned mouth made the face seem sad rather than thoughtful. The right eye (right as you look at the painting) still wasn't working. And there's too much hair, I needed to hide some of it on the sides with Prussian blue.

So what did I do next? I can't tell you because, feeling that I'd overworked the painting and was going to continue 'aggravating' the situation, I put it aside, facing the wall. When I eventually get back to it, I'll either use the titanium buff to work some light back into it, abandon it, or paint over it with white and start again. But I wanted to make a decision with the objectivity you get by ignoring a painting for a while. So instead I started a new painting – also a self portrait, but this time starting with a Cadmium red background.

© Marion Boddy-Evans

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