I took a different tact with this portrait. Instead of drawing the outline of the head and facial features and “colouring in” the lines, I began by putting in the major tonal areas of the face without paying much attention to proportions. Then I slowly began to refine the shape of the tonal areas, almost like working with clay or plasticine.
This technique led to more visible brush strokes, which I felt gave the painting more energy. I spent a bit of time smoothing out the brush strokes but I still think the finished image retains some of the looseness and movement.
