A bit too much ?
 

Hi, not sure about this one, I'd appreciate advice.

This lady has been quite ill and I'm hesitant to show her with this expression. On the other hand I want to explore human experience in my pictures, and wouldn't shy away from portraying illness (I'm a physician in my day job)
I'd love to hear how others feel....

I find her expression riveting, and thought provoking. Is this a normal expression for her? Is your goal to portray her illness, her recovery, or something else? I read recently (in a book about landscape painting) to settle on an emotion, feeling or mood you want to portray and keep that in mind as you paint. I think we can do the same with a portrait.

When I look at her I see strength in her eyes, and weakness (from being ill) in the tilt of her head and the expression of her mouth.

Thank you for your post, I suppose I wanted to portray her courage in facing circumstances
Nice thought about the landscapes and mood, I think I'll try to apply that in future to portaiture.

Margaret,

This is very compelling. I actually find the indications of her recent illness to be a major strength of the portrait because of what it conveys. I think all portraits should convey something particular, and we as artists should not be afraid to say what we want to say. It might be that you will find this strength in the merging of your expression as physician and artist with your own particular insights.

Thank you for your comments, Alexandra

I agree, we inevitably bring to portraiture our total life experiences. One of my teachers always talked of the 'giving' of eachother to the process by the artist and model
(Otherwise I suppose a photograph would suffice)

Nice idea to strive for, anyway.....