WORK-IN-PROGRESS
This painting is an interpretation of the original oil on canvas painted by George Romney that is on display at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
The curiosity for this study was to elicit a positive mood change in the observer by working hotter colors into the painting and removing the near photo-realism of the subject. The natural starting point was reversing the colors of the garment, from a white dress and reddish (pink) ribbon to a red dress and white ribbon, which later became yellow. This change required a change in the background color. Fortunately, Stuart Gilbert’s work, The Skater (Portrait of William Grant) adjacent to Miss Julianna Willoughby, provided the clues to effect the change.
The landscape was replaced by a light colored carousel horse, leaving out the head of the horse so that it would not compete for attention as had occurred in nearby painting in the Gallery. With the decision for a lighter middle plain, the last piece was to inject a dark background to work with the deep foreground colors.