My wife's first love

[Peter Yesis]

After seeing Molly's posting of that beautiful photo I was almost afraid to post this. She sets the bar high. But I'm so glad she is sharing, she is so inspiring.(after I exhale my fear, self doubt and envy).

I would welcome your thoughts and suggestions on this reference photo. My plan is to make a very intimate portrait of my wife. 16" X 20"

I love the plants surrounding her. If I could see her aura this iswhat I imagine would be there. This will be my first attempt at underpainting and glazing. The magic will all be in the skin tones and shadows, her eyes and the soft color. I plan on doing live color sketches for reference also.(That will be a first for me).

Knowing that her face is mostly in the shade, I see some very delicate and tricky values changes in my future. If I get thumbs up from you all, I plan to start this week and post my progress in WIP. I hope my trials may help some of you other wanna be's.