New Portrait Process

To say I am enjoying making this painting is a huge understatement... It is so much fun.

In portraiture, faces with some time on them are so much easier to capture than those smooth faced young-uns. Wrinkles and texture create character ( so we tell ourselves :) - and they definitely create landmarks that make the drawing easier.  

In this case I used a new technique from a class I was taking ( thank you @steveforsterart!).  Instead of the simple brown underpainting I usually do, I did a detailed charcoal drawing underneath and then layered oil on top of it.  Since I have always loved charcoal drawing, but can't resist the drama of color and brushstrokes, it's a perfect "combo" method to now have in my toolkit.

Projects like this are what classes are for - to try new things, test your boundaries - and in this case, find a new favorite process to explore.