One more figure added. There will be one more figure facing on the other side of the bench and One just visible on the other side of this figure. Then a little more on the bench with some utensils around and hanging and I shall begin painting. Perhaps by the end of next week.

However little I add to the painting preparation I shall blog it. An emergency in my renovation a bathroom kept me busy today. The back of a male figure is added but I will need to add something to connect him with the girl on the left. She has a figure to her left so I shall push the hand of that figure in front of the girl so that connects the 'circle'.

No drawing to show today,but I have started to add a figure between the girl on the left and the 'waver' This will complete a circle of figures and will be a back view. I will add a couple of isolated figures to the right of the main group as, to be natural, there are always people who find being with a group uncomfortable and I want this to be an element of the work.

I added another figure today but he is different from the others.  The other figures are all focussed on the cooking but he engages with the viewer with a wave. I find , like a lot of artists, drawing hands to be quite difficult especially an open hand facing the viewer. The most common error is making hands too small. If you place a flat hand on the front of your face you will discover that most hands are as big as the face. Whilst this is quite a large painting, the figures are quite small, so any slight change in angle makes a big difference to the accuracy of the pose and proportion. I have shown the full canvas to give an idea of the size of the painting and a detail which shows the drawing a little clearer.

It is quite a crowded table and stove, which is how I think a kitchen in this setting should be. At the painting stage, it will be the contrast that will make sense of the chaos. Tomorrow is a day off so will be back at the weekend.

My laser treatment this morning has 'opened my eyes again'. I can now see more clearly out of both eyes and get a much greater sense of depth. I decided to spend a little time on the canvas and began introducing a fifth figure at the back of the composition.

Not much action today as it was my teaching day. Just a few more items for the bench top. Tomorrow  I may not be able to do much as I have an appointment for laser surgery on the lens of my left eye. I have been painting with only one eye in focus for a few months, as the eye was not able to be corrected wearing glasses. We shall see ( if you'll pardon the 'pun').

A little more action on the stove with a few more arms. I am not entirely happy with the hands and the pans yet but will try to make adjustments when painting. If I rub out the pencil too much it makes the canvas too dirty and I am reluctant to start again at this stage though I have been known to do that.