The Old Woman in the Market

Some years ago I had the opportunity to take a trip to Greece and Turkey -- many days, many airports, many experiences which all continue to contribute to my artwork.  I loved the typical touristy vistas but as always I was drawn to what the normal flow of a community is. I prowled the grocery stores, cafes, the corner markets, the local kitchen and dry goods shops.  In a lot of instances I found packaging and products all look the same around the world. But I adored the street markers and bazaars best--the everyday hum and flow of people, produce and profit.

Off to the side in the street market in Athens near the Plaka I saw an elderly woman hard at work at her vegetable stand.  She concentrated on each lettuce leaf examining for spots, rot and the possibility to salvage what she could to sell.  She was neither perfect nor beautiful.  And neither was the market -- jumbles of smells, produce, meats, grains under various tents and shelters. She did, however, have a certain amount of entrepreneurial determination that I loved.  On this grey, wet day I had a great adventure and a memory that I always try to capture on paper ... and never exactly the way my memory tells me it should be.

 Below are the studies and the finished product to my most recent (an oddly enough untitled) painting--I trust I did her and her product some justice...

This first is color study I did almost a decade ago.  I was not please with my figurative work back then -- frustrated actually, hating the attempt so I stuffed it away always wishing I could do better...

Years later I felt braver and pulled her back out ... and began working on the face, the most difficult part for me.  I am still not convinced I have gotten any stronger with my portrayal of people but I want to be able to capture that unspoken element of a person  ... and refuse to give up on it (I have been told I am stubborn...it's true)

I tip-toed into the color study of her face...the values were weak but yet I was so proud of myself, able to execute this in a very short period of time -- trying to use the immediacy of watercolor at its best.  She appears to take on a different persona each time.  I suppose it is the beginner's learning curve.  Of all these images, I like this one the best...I believe it came closest to representing her.

Final finished watercolor -- it was a challenge to balance the dark values and colors and yet keep her as a focal point.  And her face -- again slightly different. Truthfully I was thankful to stop fiddling with it--it wore me out.  An absolutely great learning experience but I still feel like I have another version to create of this scene.  My favorite parts of the painting -- actually I love the umbrella!  Someday I hope I will create her face and truly love that.