Petra Cottontail, 12”x12” oil on canvas panel, 2022.

 I enjoy working in black and white occasionally as it’s a nice change. Plus, it’s a good exercise for focusing on value and not color. Once I has completed the dancer, I put the piece aside and began working on a larger painting. I then came across it recently while organizing my painting room.

I set the piece where I would see it constantly so I would eventually figure out how to finish it. A few weeks ago, I decided to stain the dancer’s dress in hot pink. I mixed up a batch of bright pink that would make Victoria’s Secret jealous and put a thin layer over the dress. After about five minutes, I wiped it off which left the black of the dress visible under the pink.

It then set for a few more days staring at me until I realized it would be cool to paint the background pink and yellow with a bit of turquoise then thinly cover it with white paint. I think it turned out pretty cool.

The lady in the painting looks a bit Russian or Eastern European so I decided to combined that thought with the name of the well-known character, Peter Cottontail, for the title.