Recalling Ophelia
Idea
During a break in a photo session with this model, she stood with her arms outstretched, let her neck muscles relax and her fall back. She was wearing a light cotton nightgown. The pose and its possibilities as a painting immediately struck me. For about an hour, I sketched and photographed her.
In reviewing my thumbnail sketches and photographs, I remembered an angel I had drawn in Rome. The images began to come together in my mind. I wanted to combine the two, so that the final image would present a young woman with outstretched arms supported by an angel. Because the finished painting recalled for me the character and fate of Shakespeare’s Ophelia, titling the painting became easy.
Process
From the beginning I knew that the challenge in making this painting would be to render the angel form very subtly so that a second or third look would be necessary to fully take in the final image. I began by doing a very detailed drawing on a large piece of prepared museum board. When the images of both the woman and the angel were set and proportional, I started with a loose layer of hard pastels, with the angel form laid in two or three tones lighter in value. I wanted the viewer to be able to see one form through another. Once this was done, I fixed the initial layer and planned the execution of the final painting. Using soft pastels of various brands, I found the color ranges and harmonies that I wanted. By paying strict attention to values, I was able to create the illusion of seeing through the form of the woman to the angel behind her. While this was a technically difficult painting to make, I am pleased with the finished piece.
“Vaughn has created a spellbinding series of images of women. Creating images that aren’t fully self-explanatory, images that are ripe with possibility for interpretation, she leaves the viewer to offer his or her own solutions.”
— Carolyn Shafer, Curator
Wiregrass Museum of Art