Bela Bacalhau in White

Here is Bela Bacalhau again. She is still on my easel, but I have made a beginning and you can see that she is covered with a layer of white gesso (primer for painting surface). I started applying gesso today, and tomorrow will finish with the sides and the back. This is the wooden codfish that I am going to decorate for the Marblehead Art Association. (Fifty area artists are decorating wooden codfish cutouts to be displayed in Marblehead and then auctioned to benefit the arts.) My plan is to decorate this wooden cutout with a Portuguese theme, taking inspiration from blue and white Portuguese tiles (azulejos) that I have seen on trips to Portugal. A Portuguese theme seems right because codfish (bacalhau) is quite popular in Portugal. I have already made a mockup of the design (posted here April 9, 2016 ) So as soon as I am finished with the gesso, I will be ready to start applying the design. Last year I also participated in this event, and if you like, you can see what I made if you follow this link: www.flickr.com/photos/randiart/17469011928/