1st painting lady

This early oil portrait captures a young woman glancing warily over her shoulder, one hand resting against her cheek. Confident, unblended brushwork builds the hair and shoulder in warm russets against a stark white ground, while the powder-blue top provides a cool anchor. The unfinished background keeps focus entirely on the tilted head and searching eyes, lending the piece a candid, sketchbook immediacy. Anatomy and proportion are handled with more assurance than typical early studies, particularly in the foreshortened arm. The mood is alert and slightly guarded—an observational study more than a posed sitting.