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A long time ago, I drew this sketch of my wife. She was a fantastic model, being patient and forgiving, which was fortunate as I did not really know what I was doing (feeble tonal work and erratic handling). All the same, it was not a bad likeness.
Recently, I had another go, but this time in oils. Although I still have a great model, she now has a better idea of what she can expect from me.
I went through a lot of Old Masters to have a look at their versions of their wives, not so much for inspiration but just out of curiosity. Some of the portraits are well known. Unfortunately, as a few of my favourite artists (Sargent, Reynolds, Lawrence) never married, there were no wives for them to paint.
Anyway, below is my portrait, after a 26 year hiatus, and for those who wanted to ask, yes, she is a schoolmistress.
