Revenge 1935

Dean Cornwell made this image called Revenge with oil. I see a woman, a dagger, and a body. It's a revenge scene, right? I want to know what this image looked like as it came together. Did it start with a sketch of the figures, maybe a light charcoal outline defining their forms? Or did he dive right in with the paint, building up layers of color to find the composition as he went along? And those colors! The ochres, reds, and blues are laid down with confidence. I wonder what Cornwell was thinking as he applied that final stroke of red to the curtain, letting it bleed and drip ever so slightly? Was he feeling satisfied, or did he perhaps sense a need to push further, to refine and rework? But you have to stop somewhere, and this painting has an unapologetic rawness. I admire him for not overworking it. It allows the painting to breathe, to feel alive and immediate. It makes me want to get back to the studio and paint!