The Lacemaker, 16x20 Gouache Painting, after Vermeer

Well, looky here! I was cleaning out my studio and this lady turned up. I painted her in a college class over 30 years ago. I think the assignment was to copy a master and change the color scheme a bit, so I copied Johannes Vermeer's The Lacemaker and warmed it up colorwise. Why I used gouache, I don't know. It is not the most accommodating medium. 

Vermeer and his wife had ten children, and during an economic downturn he was unable to sell his paintings. His wife said that the stress of the situation killed him. I can understand it; if I had to live off my art and had ten children, the stress of it would probably do me in as speedily as it did poor Johannes. Below is the original of The Lacemaker. I am awed by it.

Carmen