Elegance and Power - "You may leave now"

This painting stands out a litte from the rest of the series due to the isolated nature of the subject. It's the only painting in which nothing reaches the edges, where it is black all the way round. I really like it and it's one of my favourites.

My version of the story behind the painting

I see a person standing, speechless after hearing these words spoken by the woman in the painting. The woman has turned her head directly afterwards and is not looking at anything in particular. She is specifically not looking at the person standing. That person could easily be the person looking at the painting, which is slightly intimidating since the woman's head is much larger than in real life. The person is standing, thinking "What did I say that was wrong?", searching for some way to win back the attention of the woman, but realising that her statement is not a discussion point. Her earring seems to hang slightly unnaturally, but the painting actually catches her in mid-turn, with her earring swinging out

Detail from "You may leave now"

The making of "You may leave now"

The image comes from a birthday meal at a restaurant in which my wife turned up from work dressed fantastically. I couldn't help but take a few photos before we looked at the menu but realised I was trying everyone's patience.
In the sketching stage, I move the subject around lots within the square, changing the size, and drawing lots of guides over the square (thirds, diagonals, golden section etc.), to see where it 'fits' best, and test my reaction to different places. I start off geometrically trying to match certain standard compositional patterns, then take a step back to see how it feels, and what other kind of messages appear that I haven't thought about before. In this case there's a strong diagonal from top left to bottom right, close to her hairline and the back of her neck, following through to an invisible shoulder and perhaps arm. By placing the main part of the painting to the left, I think I've created a feeling of being rebuffed. That the subject is definitely looking away, which I'm really pleased with. My wife objected to the grey hair until I reassured her that the painting is not a portrait of her.

Detail from "You may leave now"

This painting is for sale for 7000 swedish kronor.
A limited edition of canvas prints of this painting are also available. An edition of ten at the same size as the originals (100 x 100 centimeters) for 2700 kronor each and an edition of twenty at 60 x 60 centimeters for 1400 kronor each. All signed and numbered by me. Please get in touch by mail gary.rychter@gmail.com or telephone 0046 (0)706 391848 if you are interested in buying.