The rough underpainting of the jacket is now complete with the fabric texture and small areas of colour to be overpainted when dry.
It is a very textured 'winter' coat and will provide contrast with the smoother texture of the face.
I have shown the stage photograph to a few interested friends and they have shown a tendency to want to turn the picture around to make the face upright, but this is a painting where he is lying down, head on a lap and listening to the story being read. In this sense, the portrait is also telling a story.
The pages of the book shown on the left are in full sun and very well 'lit' and it concerns me a little. I want it to appear very bright in the sunlight but I also want it to be recognised for what it is. I may add more of the 'creamy' suggestions of page separations at a later stage but I suspect that I shall leave it until the end to make the final decision.