When an artist spends days making marks on canvas, that seems simple. No spectator sees or hears the decision making that goes on in their brain and neither could they have any concept of the visual study that must be done to capture likeness and spirit with paint, texture, color and value. After a days work I bring a portrait to my living room where I will spend several hours intermittently studying from across the room. I analyze. I search for necessary corrections. I virtually modify. I decide on improvements. Right now I am marveling at the illusion of soft fabric in the first painting layer of a sleeve. I am thinking and planning what can be the spotlight of a portrait; the eyes. During the time I have devoted to perfecting the portrait, I have come to understand the way light flows across the cheek, I have learned that the line of the mouth is critical to achieving a likeness and I have fallen in love with the message in the eyes. Every stroke is thoughtfully placed the same way an author or a poet creates a mood with words. The sense of accomplishment is fulfilling and it is the force that propels me to the next painting.