Live..a musician in mixed media

Live   Mixed/Paper   19.5 x 24

is the second result from an experiment using different materials and a very poorly-lit photograph of one of my favorite musicians taken during a live concert.  I was looking for a vague overall-feel with a great merging and graying of shapes.  (The first one didn't work out at all).  I used vine charcoal, water and a bit of watercolor on a large sheet of heavy watercolor paper.  I worked watercolor-style, from light to dark and tried to stay light-handed.  The shapes were difficult to understand in the darkness of the reference, so I had the job of interpretation.  I ended up with a very hazy gray picture with great mood but no punch.  Something needed to be done............the magenta gouache was added flatly at the end.

"Live" is a difficult and exciting way to perform...and to paint as well.