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  Painting Progression   Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  Along with the beauty of its architecture and people is a rich culture.  I was luck enough to visit Prague one spring a few years ago when they were in the middle of their Easter festivities.  The energy was wonderful and almost magical.  The subject matter in the painting below is from a photo that I took of some of the dancers.  What I really like about this painting is the color and the various expressions of the girls.  Some are excited and others are intense.  The backlighting almost makes them angelic.  A very fun painting.
      
   
Artistic Disagreement
       
  9-18-10

Every time I have looked at this painting over the past couple of days I see a little thing that I think I can improve.  So, the things I have "improved" are that I added the eyelet detail to the girl's costumes.  I also added the little embroidered flowers to the golden dresses and added shadows to the girl's dress on the right.  I have also kept messing around with the face of the girl in the middle.  Her features just weren't perfect enough.  At this point it is done and will be in my upcoming show in October.		   Prague Festival Dancers by Shelley Rygg
       
  9-14-10

I think it's done, but I am going to let it settle in a little.  I worked on the faces again today and also added some blues and whites to the ribbons in the trees.  		  Prague Dancers by Shelley Rygg
       
  9-11-10

Lot's of detail has been added and background ribbons have been added.  The girls may need a little more tweeking, but it is very close to complete.

6H		   Prague Easter Festival Dancers Painting in Progress
       
  9-10-10

I started working on the faces and hair.  Additional highlights have been added as well.

2H		   Prague Dancers Painting in Progress
       
  9-7-10

The background will be a tree full of multi-colored ribbons and some of it has been added,  but it is quite amorphous at the moment.    A little white and shadow has also been added here and there.

3H		   Prague Dancers Painting in Progress
       
  9-6-10

Today I bought some Naples Yellow.  It's a great color for mixing with other colors to achieve a creamy complexion.  The girls faces are taking shape and so are their arms and hands. 

3H		   Prague Dancers Painting in Progress
       
  9-5-10

Let the fun begin.  I have started with the skirts, working from the bottom of the painting upward.  Colors that make good shadows are blue and purple and in this case a little crimson thrown in to the mix.  The white aprons will need to have the highlights enhanced once the paint dries a little.  Pure white creates more depth when it is laid on top of darker colors.  The girls costumes have lace and embroidery, but that will also be added later, once there is a drier surface to work on.

5H		   Prague Dancers Painting in Progress
       
  9-1-10

This is a sweet moment between these dancers in the Prague Town Square as they prepare to go on stage for the spring festival entertainment in April 2005.

I am so excited about this painting.  There is a lot of energy and color in this and I can't wait to see the finished product.

16" x 20"
Oil on Canvas

1H		   Prague Dancers Painting in Progress