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The initial setting for this composition was at the Hotel Malouiniere le Valmarin, St Serv-
an , Bretagne. The dressing table stool and carpet was incorporated within the concept
whilst staying at a hotel in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. In both cases the light direction
and window arrangement was the same. The merging of the two distinct ambiences
strengthened the narrative, as these separate locations did not provide the total effect.

This painting captures that private relaxed moment of finalising makeup. The hand mirror
suggests that this must be just right. The composition relates elements of still life, interior
setting and the external world beyond. The outer light spatially connects all the elements
of the interior. The hand and dressing table mirrors reflect and relate the figure {my wife
posed for this painting} simultaneously, from different perspectives, which bridge all as-
pects of the picture plane.

The Finishing Touch,
Oil on canvas 48 1/16 x 30 1/4 inches