Working on a Portrait

August has not been a good month for painting outdoor. On my days off it has been raining or things come up that keep me from getting work done. Even trying to find time to go for a run has been difficult this month. I started working on a new still life but after the third night I set it aside, things weren't going well with that. I was inspired to start a new portrait of Jarod, a small one that would be good practice before starting a bigger more complex painting.
On the first night I started by drawing out his face with burnt and raw umber. I refuse to draw it out in pencil on paper and then transferring it to the canvas, so that I could then proceed to paint within the lines. I like what happens when you develop and correct the painting without having guidelines. It looks more painterly and fleshy that way.
After figuring out the features I moved on to adding color trying to stay true to the under layer. Not bad for one night's work, but coming back to it the next day with fresh eyes, things start to stand out and changes become necessary.
After letting the painting sit for a day, looking at it, corrections start to take place. On the second night of painting I start measuring things and moving the position of the eyes, shortening the length of the face, changing the lips a little, etc. So far this painting is not so bad for a guy how doesn't do portraits. There's more progress to be done here, but it seems like this painting might be done sooner than expected. More to come.