In Melbourne recently Deborah Humble told me she liked one of the
sketches I did of her a few months ago but not the portrait that
resulted. 'I think it looks like Samantha with the twitchy nose in the
TV show
Bewitched', she said, grasping her own nose with a comical expression.
When I painted the portrait (last winter) I was so pleased with the flesh
tones that I didn't really consider whether it was a very true likeness. However, when I came back from Melbourne I decided Deborah was
right - it did look like Samantha. So I took out my brushes again and each
day as I passed the painting on the easel, I changed it a
bit more. Now it looks like Deborah instead of Samantha.
(Deborah has a wonderful rich mezzo voice. Listen to her sing
here.)
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Deborah
(Photo from artshub) | |
|
 |
| Looking like Samantha |
 |
| Samantha from Bewitched |
Deborah Humble sang the role of Amneris in Aida in Melbourne recently and I sketched her while she practised in Sydney. That was in March but the boxes of kitchen cupboards blocked access to my studio until last month and I couldn't paint the portrait I had waiting in my head. When I did eventually pick up the brush it was Deborah's wonderful mane
of auburn hair that wanted to be painted, not my internal images of
Aida. So that is what happened and this is the portrait.
