Portrait Studies

These four paintings were done during the Artist Guild week in Scottsdale in January. The first two here were finished during the session with the model. The last two, I did additional work from reference photos to build on what I'd done from life with the model.

I do prefer doing the entire painting from life, but when that doesn't work out, a few photos can remind me of what the model looked like, so I can figure out what I need to add. Because my tendency is to add a lot of detail, I have to fight with myself to not paint in everything when there is a photo reference to see.

Having the sitter there in person is so much better than working from photos, as the personality and life of the model come through so much better. And of course, color can be seen for what it is, whether in the shadows or highlights. This is not usually the case with using photos.