Smoking

A woman with wavy auburn hair stands in profile against a tall paneled wooden door, her body angled away from the viewer while her face turns slightly toward us. She holds a lit cigarette between two fingers close to her lips, her arm bent and elbow resting near her side, and she wears a heavy black coat that fills the lower half of the composition. An old brass lock and door handle are visible on the door beside her.

The door dominates the canvas in scraped, dry-brushed strokes of ochre, cream and grey that expose the panel grain and worn edges, contrasting with the darker, more thickly painted coat and softly blended face. Light falls from the front, catching her cheekbone, hand, and the thin curl of smoke, lending the scene a quiet, brooding, cinematic stillness.