Study for portrait of Max Mack
 

This is a 16" x 20" study I did this afternoon. It will serve as the guide for a 30" x 40" that I'll start tomorrow.

close-up

Deladier,

This is beautiful and can stand on its own. Strong brushwork and fresh immediacy. Great job.

If this is the study, I can

Dear Deladier,

This looks awfully good to me - strong and painterly, with a lot of expression. I really like it a lot. I hope you don't change it too much when you move to the larger painting.

Linda

I think you put your finger right on it, Linda. It is going to be tricky to convey all the additional information of the larger piece AND maintain looseness and expressiveness. I will post the large painting as it develops.

This is a nice piece as is. I really look forward to seeing how you paint the larger one based on this smaller study. Also, can you tell us a little bit about this man?

Will you grid it up? Do you plan to change anything?

I will use a grid to enlarge the study. I don't have any changes in mind as of now. My intention is to execute the big one (30" x 40") in 20 hours or less. That's why I chose to do the study - in order to make decisions now and keep from stumbling later.

Please be careful about concerning yourself with the time limits (other than, of course, deadlines). The time you put into a piece couldn't possibly be more irrelevant to the client, or even -- frankly -- more irrelevant to anything. If the clients are contracted to pay $2000 for a portrait, they couldn't care a whit whether you took 20 hours or 20 years to produce it on schedule.

Do it right, no matter how long it takes.

Actually the time limit is wholly self-imposed. I want this one to happen quickly so I can see what they look like when done quickly. This is not a commission. In fact, I am yet to have my first commission - how do you get those, by the way?