(Part 2 of “Tearing the Veil“)
It’s difficult to paint this. I’m relearning. Retracing the lines of the face. Charting highlights and shadows along the planes of the jaw, chin, temples, cheeks. I’m mapping the bones, where muscles once connected.
I’m shaping the eyes, considering the meaning of the expression. Things move, smudge, adjust. I build depth in filmy glazes. Particles of color, suspended in the layers, catch the light.
Time passes and I’ve forgotten to move, eat or drink. Sometimes a sound snaps me back to and I realize how sharply I’ve been hunched over this painting, holding my breath.
I blink, gasp and lean back in.
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