Becca: An Exercise in Futility

                                    The past few months I have been drawing more than painting.  The purpose of this, obviously, is to develop my drawing skills to make painting easier.  I feel like I can draw better than average now, so I decided to attempt a portrait again.  I haven't worked on a portrait from beginning to end since last summer/fall, when I completed Magistra Lanzi.    My mother-in-law (kind of), Becca, did me the favor of sitting for me for two sessions (each almost 2 hours), and then I took a photo to finish. I have not yet finished this painting, but I need it to dry for a few weeks so that I can sand some of the clumps down, and rework some areas.

                                     Although I feel this portrait is better than the last one (the one from last summer), the technique is still nowhere close to what I hope to accomplish eventually.  I did not handle the paint well, and I have to experiment with various palettes for skin tones.  I always seem to make my people too red.  At one point, however, Becca's skin tone was so cold, she looked like a corpse.  Becca is far prettier than this portrait.  I hope she will forgive me for posting it!
                                    What I am pleased with is that I only spent about 5 days on this rather than 4 months as last year.  I did this without the aid of an instructor, though my mother gave me some pointers.  Overall, I have definitely improved my drawing; now I just need to work with paint!