The Prague Ballerina.

A few years ago I began a painting, a private commission for a family. It was a simple portrait of a young ballerina. I began painting it with a dark background, the figure stood out well against an evening light and after a few weeks it was just about finished.

The collector visited the studio and was very happy, the only problem was I wasn't and thought it should be better and so I decided to continue. I took it to a point that I now realise should have been its completion. Everything was right. But I wondered what would happen if I painted a daylight view of Prague in the background, it seemed too easy to make this girl stand out in the darkness. So I painted a typical Prague afternoon, in brilliant light behind here. This took a long time and was difficult, but I did it. I managed to paint out the night and fill it with a complete view of the city on both sides of the Vltava, looking up river to the horizon. I did this despite the changes of light and in addition she was even more 3 dimensional, now standing out against this bright vista stretching to infinity. I then decided to improve the face further, do one last thing...and that is when all hell broke loose, the face worsened, I lost it.

I've worked intermittently on this picture over the years to take it back to the point that I was most happy with the face. But it has defeated me every time. Every so often I think it important to push myself to achieve something uniquely special and beyond anything I have done before. One should always know when to stop, but I don't think anything can be discovered without taking a risk or lavishing time on a project. I failed here or I would have if I considered it finished, but I've not given up.

In December 2007 I wrote to the family to say I was planning to go back to the painting again. No pain, no gain. I will post further examples here as the work progresses. Wish me luck.