ABSTRACT

The middle phase of analysis is the period of its major productive work. Yet it is the most difficult to describe. Imagine a painter setting out to do a self-portrait with no preconceived plan, only the goal of creating the most complete and faithful rendition possible. He (or she) might begin with the overall skeletal shape and work on it until a difficulty arose. Then he might shift to the head and face, again persisting until he felt he could proceed no further. Stymied with the main image, he

might then work on the background, gradually returning to the figure itself. At this point the artist might change the focus on certain elements-deepening the shadows under the eyes or highlighting the angle of an arm-leading to a completely new approach. As the various areas begin to come together, however, new problems may develop, forcing an extensive reevaluation of the initial conception before work can proceed. It may take a while to work through seemingly contradictory views-to adjust, for instance, the prominence of the cheekbones to the twinkle of a smile. Yet as the discrepancies in perspective are overcome, the momentum of the work picks up. A broadening integration of parts takes hold. Al l the details begin to "fit." Background and foreground develop a cohesive relation, and the final image achieves a life, a unity, greater than the sum of its parts.