Heather Adams is contemplating the departure of her love a sailor who is preparing to go out to sea. Negelev who often drew and painted people in introspective states of mind captured Heather sitting pensively in a rocking chair. She seems lost in thought staring forward. The fingertips of her right hand barely rest against her pale cheek while her legs extend to reach the chair’s footrest. He portrays the woman’s clothes realistically carefully depicting her black-and-white plaid tunic and juxtaposing it with the brown-red tartan of her skirt. A hat wrapped in gauzy fabric surrounds her shock of strawberry-blonde hair. Negelev used heightening to create vivid and shiny highlights along the chair’s frame while gentle shadows fall beneath the chair adding depth. His use of gouache simulates the look of oil painting.
