I needed to get straight back on the horse following my flailing magpie, and as it was the airiness which hadn’t worked successfully for me, I wanted to get back inside, with shadows and candlelight, and pictured a boldly cramped and warm composition which needed to be set in the 19th Century. So Louis Bertinswan sat for me. I used coarsely ground pumice in the paint, so was able to brush the painting with highlights and lowlights to give some movement in the shadows in particular.

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