model paintings

So after taking the weekend off, I am back in the studio. Marc and I are dog sitting for a week so I had a little extra canine company in the studio today.

In painting news, I may have finished the backyard painting once and for all (although the white dress in the shadow may need to be taken down a notch). In between now and the last post I totally destroyed the figure on the far left and enlarged the girl whose dress may be too white. 

Then on a whim I made a couple of changes to darken and solidify some areas on a painting that was, and is again, sitting on the finished wall. 

With these paintings in mind, I would like to address the elongated figures that seem to occupy my fictional/altered worlds. I typically free-hand draw when painting, incorporating several photographs together, and because of certain tendencies my figures always become stretched. This occurrence does not bother me on a regular basis, but I have been thinking about influences. My first thoughts went to artists who have the same tendency.... El Greco and Velazquez....

but then it occurred to me that this tendency is most likely due to looking at fashion images everyday.

So....models of the fashion industry, my elongated figures salute you tonight, thanks for your influence... or on the other hand maybe they should just thank the old world painters.