A good lesson...

Try to keep your paintings, sketches, sketchbooks in some version of order. As you keep in touch with past clients, you may find that they wish to purchase historic materials.  Because I do so many compositional sketches for a portrait assignment, there are always more options for paintings than I will end up doing for the client. The parents of this little girl contacted me to purchase several pieces from that earlier project - graphite compositional sketches or watercolor color plans/studies. This is a detail from the final painting - a large double pastel of this little girl and her older sister. I should tell you a secret now...this was painted 17 years ago! It is still one of my favorites. How nice to hear back from those clients...

Portrait - the working sketch...

You know I have been sharing some of the travel, the sights, the activities, but today I thought I might share with you my real work. This is one of the portrait sketches in graphite that begins every commissioned portrait. I usually start with a sitting at their home or office...during which I draw dozens of sketchs. Only half dozen designs are presented to the client from which they choose their favorite. Then the painting begins in the studio. Here is the sketch that was chosen...it is 14 x 11 graphite... Tomorrow I will show you the early stage of the canvas as I wash the colors on with broad strokes...