This is a small 8 x 8 canvas that seemed suited for this woman's portrait. It had a a few lines of paint from a previous start of a painting, but when I lightly added dry brush strokes to start fleshing out the face, I felt the need to stop even though there is a red streak showing from the underpainting. It suggests a scar, which wasn't in the photo, but I left it.
Several years ago, I made an oil pastel image of the woman in Nigeria who had been condemned to a stoning death for having a baby out of wedlock. I titled it Nigerian Madonna. She was eventually saved by world outcry, and my drawing/painting sold as soon as the gallery owner put it on display. I like working with images of women who are not supermodel types, in fact, who are not looking for limelight or even a portrait painter. I want to capture the image of people who God made, in his image - especially the underdog, the underachiever, the unsung, the unassuming. I love the beauty in her eyes.
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