Rouge

About this work

Rendered in pencil on paper at A4 scale, this drawing captures a woman in the act of applying lipstick. Stripped of the layered glazes and opaque oils that characterize the artist's panel paintings, the work relies solely on tonal gradation to suggest the softness of skin and the faint moisture of lips. The restrained treatment maintains a measured distance from its subject—neither overly intimate nor detached—distilling gesture and atmosphere into the single, charged word of its title.