Antigua Basket Lady

48″ x 30″
Oil on canvas

On a trip through the Panama Canal we took a side adventure to Antigua, Guatemala. This colorful lady was standing in the middle of a parking lot. I had this photo for years before I decided to settle on a background from my imagination. Her atire was very colorful, but she was holding an ugly plastic bucket which I exchanged for a basket in my painting. One of the great things about a painting is that you can change ugly and superficial things for more aesthetically pleasing objects. The more I draw and paint I try to pay closer attention to the background details. Parking lots are just not very interesting. I think backgrounds are as important to a painting as the main subject and must be handled with equal care. Color is the easiest thing to change. Changing the color can add or detract emphasis and help balance the composition.