Well, I just realized I never entered the finished portrait into this category.  It takes revue to notice these things and I do not have a lot of time to go over stuff I think I have completed.  I gave this painting to my grandson for his graduation gift.  I hope someday it will be a treasured memory of his time with Grandma.

Sorry, I didn’t crop the photo.  Here I am adjusting the light and the pose a little.  I actually took another photo while visiting Ryan.  I liked it better so I made some changes.  Now we will have to see if I made a good choice.  I am working on this and another small painting.  It is a self portrait.  The reason I can fit this in right now is because there was no way I was going to get my large painting done for the MR. Rogers Show so I am taking a little time off from the frantic hurry I was in and I’m just doing some small things because I enjoy them.  I’m still working on the other piece regularly.  I’ve entered all the fall shows.  My work is accepted in them all except I am still waiting to hear from one of them.

I study my reference photos or the live model and determine where the strongest lights are.  I have established some of the shadows when transferring the sketch and they remain visible.  I will reinforce them as I proceed but this stage is all about the surfaces which catch the light, thereby identifying form and dimension. I do not attempt to paint any strong highlights but only map out the three dimensional quality of the portrait.  Some artists work with strong tones but I prefer to continue with pale shades until I am sure the likeness is very accurate.  My belief is that using the under painting and tonal surface of the canvas to become the shadows, at least until the painting is developed somewhat, makes a more satisfactory skin tone.  Some of my earlier works were not done that way and I can see the difference.

I begin the painting by mixing a half paste of flake white and a gel medium.  It is translucent so I retain all the form of the drawing and I can build the portrait’s dimension with light and shadow.  I paint this half paste in a thin layer for the foundation.  I keep it smooth at this stage by knocking it down with a fan brush.  This helps to create a surface that will easily accept the next step which I usually try to do immediately.

This is the full sketch.  The canvas is 16 x20