One of the sixteen

 "one of the sixteen vestal virgins

  who were leaving for the coast"

That is part of the lyric of  "A Whiter Shade of Pale", the song that motivated me in doing this painting.

I still cannot grasp the meaning of the song, despite my research on the Miller's tale and the Vestal virgins.  Regardless, the song mentions one of the sixteen, and collectively they were leaving.  So what makes this "one" deserving special mentioning?

For this "one" to stand out, I am going to fabricate my own protagonist for this painting.   She must appears to be different from the other fifteen.  My decision is that she should be covered, partially at least.

She would be trying to cover herself  up with a piece of cloth, while leaving her shoulders and knees exposed. 

I am placing her gaze in the direction of the vestal who is fiddling with the sieve.

My rationale for doing that is I want to involve the vestal with the sieve into the group dynamics.  She might be totally occupied with the sieve but she is not alone.  I am developing a story line which I shall divulge near the end of the painting.  For now let's just play along with my plot and acknowledge that her efforts are not unnoticed.  The vestal with the cloth is watching her intently with certain resignation, by covering up,  as if to prepare for a certain outcome.  Why does she need a security blanket all of a sudden?   Could she have, as in the Garden of Eden, eaten the forbidden fruit, lost her innocence and knows shame now?  What is her emotional state? 

Then I look at my painting of the model who is looking up towards the outside of the assembly.  

All of a sudden I am catching an optical illusion.  My intention was to paint the model with the pose of her left arm by the side and extending her right arm forward at an angle.  But when I glance at the painting, it is as if the model is crossing her left arm in front of her chest and resting on her right shoulder.  Once my brain is imprinted with that suggestion, it is difficult for me to interpret any other way.  This is almost like a brain tease that one sees from time to time, whether one sees a rabbit (by seeing the void) or one sees the silhouettes of trees surrounding the void.

For now I am not going to deal with this conundrum.  In a way I think this is really wicked.  It forced me to give pause and ponder.  Is that her elbow or her breasts.  Perhaps I shall let the viewers do the same.