It occurred to me that watching me develop a portrait could be like watching the proverbial paint dry, but if you're reading this, you are probably a painter, too, or a friend. In either case you're more likely to have the patience.
I start with the pictures provided by the family. In this case, I have a camera phone shot, and one with a very small print of Darnell's face. I decided to use the that second picture,and I enlarged the portion of the photo that I needed to do a head and shoulders portrait.
I gave myself a few charcoal "landmarks" on the canvas, but then immediately started in developing a monochromatic underpainting. I use raw umber, titanium white, and turpenoid for this. I get the drawing problems worked out in this stage, as well as establishing my darks and lights. I can see that there are adjustments that I will make once I begin to layer on the color, but at this point, I have to allow the painting to dry for a couple of days.
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