A Commission & A Value Study

Sometime ago, a colleague of mine asked me to paint a picture of her kids. She wanted it Sorolla-style, and, also similar to much of Sorolla's work, the setting was to be on the beach. She is a Spanish teacher, so no surprises here. She provided me with a dark 4x6 glossy photograph. I experienced some trials as I attempted this: a.) I am not accustomed to working from photographs, never mind small ones with dark figures, b.) I haven't painted in over a year, and c.) I have been painting indirectly the majority of the times I have painted over the last 4 years. Sorolla obviously requires more of a direct style. So here is what I came up with:

I also began a value/color study course at ARA with Emmy. We have had three classes thus far. The first was dedicated to a lecture and a demo, and the second two classes were for a value study of the figure with the same model, same pose both classes. We used raw umber, ivory black, and lead white; the goal was to achieve the fall of light. We worked small segments at a time, considering value relationships. We did not worry about the drawing, which was such a strange feeling while working at ARA, where the entire time I've been a student there, we have been pushed to render a likeness. I believe this first attempt was quite successful. My fear now is that I won't be able to do it again.