Seed of an Idea

This is the first initial thumbnail sketch of a figure/landscape painting idea that recently came to me.(sorry for the blurryness, I have extreme camera shake when I don't use a tripod, kind of like buckfever). Every morning when I walk my dog in pitch dark (since the time change) I pass by this elementary school which has this doorway and walkway that is lit by a single overhead lamp that is attached to the wall directly over the doorway. Something about the appearance of it has captivated my imagination. I decided that there's no way that I could paint it directly from life but that this would be a good opportunity to sharpen my skill at memory drawing. As I was working out an initial sketch the idea came to me of having a female figure posed before the darkened doorway, seemingly adjusting her classically styled dress. Why? So that her pose would allow her body to angle upwards and catch some of the light. I plan to work this out using the academic method of making perspective studies and figure studies, drapery studies, etc; . It will probably take me a while because I won't be devoting all my time to it, but this is where it starts and hopefully I'll have the discipline to see it through. I was working on this sketch at my desk while my students were taking a test, so I hurriedly scribbled it down with a ball point pen before the image faded from my imagination. One of my former instructors cautioned me not to get too caught up in one type of painting so this is a little bit of experimenting.