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Valerie, I try to have the client over to view the portrait right after I get it blocked in, while it's still in what I call the "blue" phase since I use ultramarine for that purpose. That way he or she can see how the composition we've agreed upon actually looks on the canvas and at that point it's still rough enough that I could make changes readily if they were necessary.
I tend to work in stages, from large masses all over the canvas to more and more refinement throughout, so the painting is almost like an image loading progressively on the web, becoming clearer and clearer. I do focus on the face first, though, and the likeness is there even in the blue phase.
The client knows that I've only spent one session on the work at that point and so he or she isn't expecting a finished product. So far this practice has worked well for me, and I really enjoy the feedback. The only other person who's as excited about the developing painting as I am is the client, so I like to show them how it's progressing.
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