[Marvin Mattelson]

Thanks everyone for all your kind words.

I'm enclosing two details of the painting, one of his hair and one of his face.

I really have a hard time viewing my work on the web. I feel that by reducing the size of my paintings and then delivering the information at 72 dpi much of what I'm trying to achieve is negated. It appears that painterly works can more easily maintain that painted look despite the limitations of digital reproduction.

Perhaps the details of this portrait, which are reproduced here larger than they appear in the painting, will give a better sense of the paint quality and color subtlety that I work so hard to maintain.

However, since I am working for the appearance my final painting will have on the easel and not on the monitor, I'll just have to suck it up.

In terms of painting hair I try to emphasize the softness in my paint application. I am most interested in portraying the variation of surface texture. The only way I know to achieve this by staying aware of the intrinsic qualities of each surface I render. Sometimes, when artists choose to work in a more painterly fashion, they must sacrifice a certain degree of tactile textural qualities. In the end it just comes down to personal choices.