Woman Sleeping

Oil on Linen

16" x 20"

Painted of my wife as she slept during a short pose, this work was painted over an earlier portrait that had not fully cured. I had learned since, that while even the masters often painted over earlier work to save canvas or hide failed executions, that the paint must fully dry first or cracking can result. Although this painting's surface has cracked badly in several spots, it remains one of my favorites. The subject, pose and lighting owes something to Vermeer's A Maid Asleep (see painting).