Neha

Neha is next in my portrait series.  She is another close friend of mine, and also an artist here in Chicago.  I am really lucky to have a great network of friends and artists that are willing to participate in this series.  You can check out her art and website HERE.  

This is a how the portrait came together:

Working from a photo that I've cropped to a square, I half my panel vertically and horizontally to find the center, and measure to find the center of the photo, which happens to be just under Neha's nose.  This gives me a starting point for drawing in the shapes.

(this photo was taken at night so it's a little off in color)

I've developed a habit of starting with the eye in light, then work my way out, trying to see each neighboring piece of color.

 Attempting to place these flat blocks of color right next to each other hopefully in the exact area I want them to go, then leave alone - no blending. 

Continuing out and around until finally piecing in her hair, hat and background.  Adding strong red outlining around her shoulders and neck, and the final bits of contrasting color.  

Thanks for reading! 

Hummmm ... now who's next? :)