So I'm done with two commissioned portraits (oh the feeling of a completed project! :)) - the sleeping baby and the Icelandic lady. I was working on both at about the same time and it was interesting to compare. First of all, the baby is practically a life size painting - 11 x 14.5", and the woman's portrait is 9x12" - tiny , her whole head was maybe 2 inches! The thing is, working big is easier than working small. Most of you who paint will probably say, "Duh!" - but it's just one of those epiphanies that come to you only from personal experience (how else would you explain the fear of a full watercolor sheet?) And working big and small at the same time is a good way to figure it out. Here's a step by step sequence of pictures of the baby portrait, minus the drawing stage. Starting with a preliminary sketch:
TADA!