Self-Portrait Project – Sixteen (Part c) – Is It Strange That…

… I like the early steps so much. What does it say that I feel so much satisfaction from the results I’m getting in the earliest steps that I wonder if it is ok to stop here? The digital image is far more raw looking than the live one, in that it shows the details almost unnaturally. That is a good barometer for me to see where I need to continue working.

I know I’m enjoying the palette knife a whole lot more these days and getting comfortable at perfecting the effects I want with fewer strokes. This is another example where I feel I need to step back for a bit to think carefully about next steps. The reason is that these first coats of paint have turned out far better than I imagined. I’ve already got most of the tension between the face and the background I wanted. I feel there is a need for some very fine detail work and that will be a good challenge with my palette knife.

Stay tuned…