I appreciate this reflection so much and am fascinated by the apparently small but meaningful changes to the portrait. I wonder how you determine the underlying issue and reach that point of improvement before you hit the “overworked” place.
That’s very thoughtful of you to say! And here was my mindset, first I was treating the “before” as its own emotion and acknowledging that it had to move toward the new emotion. I could glance between the two versions to “animate” the changing expression in my mind—from what inner state to what other inner state? As I became more aware of this, it became easier to see what had to change. Other changes were based on anatomy—the shadow on the cheek lacked the slightest tug (a bend halfway along) to indicate a subtle smirk. The eyes moved by such tiny amounts, to get the feeling of direct eye contact versus the formerly impassive stare. The crease in the mouth needed to be better defined. Once I reached the point where the feeling matched my goal, and the brush strokes weren’t too sloppy-looking, I stopped.
I appreciate this reflection so much and am fascinated by the apparently small but meaningful changes to the portrait. I wonder how you determine the underlying issue and reach that point of improvement before you hit the “overworked” place.
That’s very thoughtful of you to say! And here was my mindset, first I was treating the “before” as its own emotion and acknowledging that it had to move toward the new emotion. I could glance between the two versions to “animate” the changing expression in my mind—from what inner state to what other inner state? As I became more aware of this, it became easier to see what had to change. Other changes were based on anatomy—the shadow on the cheek lacked the slightest tug (a bend halfway along) to indicate a subtle smirk. The eyes moved by such tiny amounts, to get the feeling of direct eye contact versus the formerly impassive stare. The crease in the mouth needed to be better defined. Once I reached the point where the feeling matched my goal, and the brush strokes weren’t too sloppy-looking, I stopped.