A Study in Portraiture

Hello friends!
I have finally gotten back to my painting lessons after quite a long break. I was going to take just a little time off from my Traditions lessons, but that time just kind of stretched out to months. I was glad to get my paintbrush wet again. Although, it did take me a little time to get my hands trained again.
This turned out pretty good, although the subject matter isn't my choice. I did learn a lot from this lesson and I am glad that I am through with it. We started with just an outline of a face, then shaded it all with burnt umber for shadows and highlights. Then we applied the skin tones, based in the hat, coat and hair. Then layers were built up to darken the shadows and lighten the highlights on the face. We used a black and white copy to get a good look at the value changes and used that to define the face.
I do like the way his eyes turned out. He looks a little mischievous with that twinkle in his eye. So now it is on to the next lesson, which is a Flemish Floral arrangement. I think I will like painting this one much better. After I finish that painting, I have one more left which is a landscape and it is beautiful. A scene with ships, water, and an old windmill. Then I will be done with my painting lessons.....42 paintings done, and months and months of learning. Now I will have to apply it to my OWN artwork.
Have a lovely day! I'm off to my sewing machine to play for awhile!!
hugs, Sue K