Half Way Tree Redux Redux

I painted like a fiend for very long stretches this past week. I made a lot of changes on the portrait of the kingman which I'd had staring down at me in my studio for months. It was if it has been just DARING me to get on with it, for god's sake. Good thing it's been chilly and everybody is happy to stay warm and cosy indoors in our little corner of the East Village. Just flip on the SYFY channel, boil a hot cuppa bush tea and my model is content........

I had my work cut out for me, I wasn't happy with the overall texture of the painting -- too gritty and grainy, not painterly. But I liked the colors I'd used. So first, I tackled the surface texture. I change the proportions of some features, which were too crowded in a too-narrow face. And I layered on some nice creamy strokes of paint.

I'm not too keen on the color combination now -- too warm and too green -- and the nose is still too rounded but I'm pleased with the direction. Here are some before and after pics............

BEFORE - upper left:



AFTER - upper left:



BEFORE- upper right:




AFTER - upper right:



BEFORE - mid face:



AFTER - mid face:





Full Final -- 24"x36" canvas



But still a good amount of work to be done.................stay tuned.