I started working on the painting on the easel, Along 4th Street, yesterday. I’ve had two long sessions on it, but it still needs a lot of work.
I’m careful about cutting off figures by the canvas edge. One of my teachers, Pearlstein, is well known for cutting figures. He used the device to emphasize the painting’s formal quality. Although he was more or less successful with the technique, I think he became a little lazy. There are other methods to highlight the formal elements in figure painting.