The last thing I do before I consider an artwork finished, is tape it up on the wall, stand back at the distance the client will see it in their home, and see where there may be places that need to be a bit darker, lighter, more color — or that just jump out at me as a bit “off”. I’ll make the change, tape it up again, stand back and look at it.... I spent two days doing that with this portrait.
My final touch-ups are the yellow flowers around Cooper. It was not possible to get a bright enough yellow with yellow pencils on the green underpainting.
As you can see on the tinfoil, I was mixing up a nice orangey yellow (mixing red and yellow acrylic paints). Then I used a small brush to dab it on the colored-pencil flowers to brighten them up. That will be my final move on this portrait. Tomorrow I’ll scan the finished work and share it with you!
