Portrait of Dad

 Mom saw a photo of a painting on a pillow and sent me a photo of Dad asking me to try painting it. She wants it to hug when she misses him. 

I envision something very loose, in watercolour, because there is not a lot of clarity in this photo.Also there is the question of this odd gesture of his- so typical!

 “You.... you.....” like De Niro in Analyse This!

Anyway, the notion I had was something I’ve been looking for online, with other artists and how they handle portraits. Some of them look inaccurate. Some look accurate but the messiness is contrived. I love those watercolour artists who know how to let the medium express the colour and paint quality with spontaneity while somehow keeping the resemblance intact, just enough.

Here’s one I love- https://youtu.be/_5VDv0Er74A

Agnes Cecile- great drawing, luscious watercolour in spontaneous washes and transparency, captivating a mood in the subject that makes me look longer.

Here is my cropped  photo

My workspace setup

My sketch and first wash.

His hand is still unfinished, as well as the highlights on his glasses. I deepened the browns of the hat.