[Marvin Mattelson]

This portrait was painted in a life class about two and a half years ago. My approch to painting is to start with the biggest shapes and continue to subdivide until I have achieved the degree of finish I am looking for. I costantly use my smaller shapes to verify the integrity of my larger shapes. First I look for shapes, second for values and last for color notes. Edges are refined where and when it's appropriate. Even though the head is refined, I tried to hold the big shapes to maintain a strong sense of form.