Coded Thoughts Wip 2

It's been a bit of a draining week but painting gives me something positive to focus on so I've been plodding along with this latest one in between hospital appointments and dealing with UPS blunders.

I'm still forming the facial features on the portrait section of the painting but the personality and likeness is beginning to take shape.  It really is worth taking your time on this stage and making sure you have the likeness when it is still relatively easy to alter. I now need to increase the shadow values on the face and form the neck. Then I'll be ready for the final skin tone washes. The shiny parts are where I have painted on masking fluid to preserve the strongest highlights.

 I'm really pleased with the tension that is being caused by the rush of the background  directly towards the viewer but at the same time the subject not looking at the viewer but off into the unknown. To me, this just accentuates that feeling of us being aware of but not understanding the thoughts. Hope you all feel that it works too.

Ona