I love how Henri Matisse used bold lines and colours in his paintings and drawings, it's no secret that I am quite smitten with his work.

Last week I completed a painting using Matisse's Green Romanian Blouse (Blouse roumaine verte) as a reference. I love how she turned out!

A glimpse into her making...

Most of my paintings start out with marks on canvas. I had no clue where this was going to end up.

The flowy lines in my marks reminded me of hair and fabric. I searched for a reference image to help me out and found Matisse's The Green Romanian Blouse.

Painting the large shapes, giving her form.

Filling in the background, trying to choose colours that would be harmonious and make her blouse stand out.

Finally, solidifying colours, refining some of the edges to my satisfaction (see where her forehead meets her hand, how it's different than the previous photo?), and declaring her COMPLETE!