Throughout the entire Design Basics novel by David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak the portrait of a girl in a three-quarter view named Vanity (Portrait 1) by Susan Moore shows up multiple times and is analyzed according to the concepts of the chapter. Looking at this piece so many times, the repetition of viewing this image made many impressions on me.
Firstly, the image creates a strong sense of texture. Also, the impression of the paint as crackling--raised lighter parts surrounding by receding darker troughs--gives it an antiqued appearance. The smooth, bright, highlighted realism of the eyes and the mouth make them stick out from the rest of the piece because of the vastly noticeable texture contrast.
The composition also should be taken into account in the overall way the piece communicates to the viewer. The three-quarter view of her coyly looking over her shoulder makes the audience wonder what is going on behind her somewhat eerie eyes. However, I do not know if I would interpret her expression as that of being vain. Also, the way that Moore actually crafted the piece makes it seem like the girl is either fading into the background or materializing from it as the edges the edge between the girl and the background is not definite but rather fuzzes and fades into the other.
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