untitled (Woman Painting)

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Description:

Watercolor on paper of an unidentified woman seated on a tree branch over a marsh as she is painting. She wears a bright blue dress with a bow at the base of the collar and holds a white watercolor palette in her left hand. She looks down at the painting and twists her ankles in thought. Her blonde hair is conveyed using yellows and greens and her dress is conveyed using blues and purples. The tree branch contains shades of brown, green, yellow, and red. The pigment is applied using a dry brush technique, bringing out the texture of the paper with minimal blending of strokes, evidenced by the patches on the legs and trees. The level of detail may suggest that the subject was captured from memory rather than from life. The composition and subject resemble an illustration rather than a portrait.