This is a close up view of the area I am working on. I am continuing to
add and develop the figures on the steps. I can see how they will move
the viewers eye through the painting. I have included an older woman
and a young girl selling apples. I think they make a nice contrast in
size as well as age and they make a good interaction together. The
figures seem to be working well so far.

My current work in progress is a 40x30 peice. I am working from photographs taken on a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico 2 years ago. The scene is designed on different levels with a sprawling market winding it's way up the steps to an ancient marketplace in the village of Etla. The challenge will be to select and arrange from my many photographs, the figures needed to make the best compositon, and to present the viewer an authentic view of the vendors with their piles of fruit and vegetables and a stream of shoppers milling up and down the steps, occasionally stopping to inspect their wares or just stopping to visit. I have already completed a 20x16 study of this scene to work out some of the problems. Planning the picture was great fun. Now it will be a matter of juggling shapes, adjusting values of bright light and shadows and do all the things necessary to move the viewer's eye through the painting.
I don't always begin my painting in the same way. Each work has its own set of problems to be solved and the painting itself seems to tell me where to start. In this instance, I am beginning with the figures. When I get some of them placed, I can begin to judge values and decide what type of sky will best contribute to the painting. I am putting enough detail in each figure to be able to judge how it will work in the compostion. I will try to bring all of the painting up to this level and then go back and adjust values where necessary.