I have begun to recover from a bad dose of the flu and, so am making plans for my next portrait. It will be another of my grandson but with a slightly more 'happy' face. I will be using a square composition, which is unusual for portraits but I like the challenge of making it work.

 
I have added a little more detail to the watch and adjusted the angle of the arm, which was previously at an angle that did not appear quite natural. A little more 'smear' on the watch and adjustment of  the angle of some of the background to make them more uniform and I may have finished!

I have added highlights to the hair and movement smears to the top of the head and scarf. I had considered doing some movement smears on the face but have decided against it.
If a comparison is made between todays post picture and some previous ones, a change in the cheek on the left of the painting would be evident. The subject was a little uncomfortable with the prominence of it, so I toned it down. I'm inclined to agree. I cannot say that I won't alter the tone again but I'm happy to leave it as it is for the moment.
Next session I shall add detail to the watch and make minor adjustments to the arm

I have added tones to the hair, detail to the other eye and begun to work on the arm and watch. My wife wears this watch frequently, which has a strap that is a little too large, and so slips around her wrist. Adding small details like that add to the 'personal' quality to the work.
There will be highlights to the hair, and more refinements to the watch added over the next few days. I am still undecided how much 'smear' to add the feeling of movement I shall add but I shall start on the scarf and work from there.

I have started to add tones and details to the face. I don't find many paintings, where the teeth are showing, that I feel are successful, so it is with trepidation that I approached this pose. I have tries not to make them too prominent. One of the biggest problems with teeth in paintings and drawings, in my view,  is that the spaces between the teeth are over worked and become too dominant.
I shall work more detail and contrast into the eyes in my next session an, perhaps start the build up of hair detail.

It may not be obvious in this shot but I have spent the last few sessions adding some fabric texture to the scarf. Once dry, I shall add smears of light to indicate the movement.

This stage is where I am starting to build tones on the face.There are many layers to go, and more blending on the flesh. The eyes and mouth will be refined and, for the first time I shall paint 'teeth'! I have seen many portraits where the teeth look ugly and do not add to the beauty of the person. I don't want this to happen to mine. (My wife wouldn't want it either!)
I am not yet satisfied with the base colour of the hair but I shall consider changing that in another session.
The watch is an enigma too. It has slipped around the wrist a little and is almost worn on the inside of the arm. I had considered painting it in the normal position, but liked to be able to see the watch face and so will leave it where it is.

Three stages of blocking in the basic tones of hair and face. There is much to do with tones and contrast, along with the minute details that refine the 'likeness' which is important to the subject.
A person is not happy if a portrait of them is not a good likeness. It is also important to point out that, when we look at ourselves in a mirror, we are viewing a reversed image. In most humans, the left and right side of the face is slightly different, and this can leave a slightly false impression of how they look in their mind.

How often do we look at a photo of ourselves and not think that we do not resemble the image we have in our mind.
Another point that artists will be aware of, is how different we can make a painting with just a slight change of tone or angle in the shapes.
I am not an expert at portraits, as this is only my fourth attempt in my artistic career but I am learning fast!

I shall leave these areas for a few days and work on refining the shapes and tones of the scarf. I shall add the highlights of it at a later time which will give a better impression of the texture of the material.