Simple,strong, and Wrong

Little Dancer
12 x 5.75

This little figurine is a teaching tool; not for my students, but for me.  She`s a replica of Degas` `Little 14 year old dancer` and she`s caused me no end of mischief as I`ve struggled to interpret her in simple terms despite her complexity. The fewer marks that I make, the happier I am with a painting, and this figure invites me to overwork every time.
Yesterday was no exception as I found myself rendering the folds of her dress and the features of her tiny face.  Luckily, I managed to avoid the usual pitfalls by switching to a larger brush and simplifying everything that I could.  The multiple folds became 3 or 4 large ones and her face, thanks to the clumsy inaccuracy of the brush, became a suggestion without being precious.
My biggest struggle was with the legs which I`d slapped on with confidence in an almost-correct position. They weren`t right, but they were `good`.  Robert Genn in his blog `The Painter`s Keys`once referred to it as `wrong and strong`, and it caused a real dilemma.  My option was to repaint the legs entirely and, inevitably, lose the freshness of the marks.  I decided to let them remain as they were.  If it had been an error in the focal area of the upper torso, I`d have made a different choice, but I decided that, for their level of importance, they legs could stay as they were.
I think it was the right decision. My overall aim of rendering her in a simple, strong statement was best served by letting it slide.
Happy painting!