I loaded two photos and inserted them both, I don’t know if they will both show up and I won’t know until I post this. I have been painting some smalls for a show featuring smalls to sell. I enjoy these even though I have always concentrated on life size portraits which is the image I am posting today. I found a beautiful frame at a thrift shop in Ohio a few years ago. I thought this mother and baby should really look good in the frame. Since this frame is a size that is not standard, I would have to pay a high price for a custom made linen canvas. So, I decided to make my first attempt at constructing an archival linen canvas panel. My husband bought a piece of birch plywood and cut it to fit the frame I mentioned. I painted it with a sealant and then cut pre primed linen which I glued carefully to the panel using a special archival glue. After it was dry, I painted the imprimatura layer using a mixture of burnt umber and ultra marine blue, wiping it down to the shade and value I wanted. I transferred the drawing as I have shown you before and then I emphasized the darks with the same paint I had used for the imprimatura. When dry, I used a lead white equally mixed with titanium white to begin marking the brights to established the three dimensionality of the image. I always try to make photos of every stage of the portrait painting. If both of the images show up here you will be able to see the progress of this procedure. This process is one of the most important parts of making a painting in a style of realism. It can be a slow process for students to master this stage. It takes an artistic trained eye to see the value shifts in flesh tones as well as clothing and background; even more skill to show this on the canvas with paint using only the pressure of the brush or a heavier application of the paint. These are the kinds of things we discuss and practice in our class. I have been greatly blessed to be learning these skills. My students are excited and encouraged as they begin to see results and improve these skills. I try to post often when I am actively working on a painting so that my viewers can give this a try too with the examples to guide them. I hope you all find this as rewarding as I do. Till next time, Shalom, Diana