First look at a Portrait of Abbey

Hello!

So I mentioned a little while ago about Abbey, my beloved little sister in the youth group at church, and this week I finished her portrait that I've been praying for and working hard on for the past few weeks.  And today, I'm going to give everyone a first-glance at it.  Abbey has already seen a picture of the full thing, and she'll also be the first to see it in person.  As for the rest of you, this is all you get for now.  But I can tell you it turned out great, and I'm thankful God blessed it as He did.

Let me start with materials... First, I painted it on a really nice linen canvas.  It had a more textured weave than some of your other typical linen canvases, so I really loved that.  And of course, I used primarily my favorite Williamsburg oils, with the exception of a few colors that included Michael Harding's Crimson Lake and Daniel Smith's Lapis Lazuli.
I'll be honest, it had a tough beginning.  I had to brush away two failed attempts at an underpainting.  But thankfully, third time was a charm.  From there, it was just a fun painting to do.  If you know my work well, you might notice I got a little bolder with color and texture particularly in the background.  This is my first attempt at borrowing a thing or two from one of my favorite contemporary painters Shane Wolf, who incorporates a kind of syncretism in his work by combining elements of abstract painting in with the representational realism of his figures. 
I've done a lot of paintings, just in 2014 alone.  From all the new paintings I included at the Gamber Center to the plein air landscapes I'm starting to get into, I've lost count of how many I've completed this year.  But I know this portrait is easily among my favorite of all time.  Can't wait to show it to everyone!
Okay, like I said, this is all you get for now.  I will have the full image coming up soon.  In the meantime, more projects are on their way.  I have two ideas in my mind right now... They aren't just ideas for two individual paintings, but two ideas for major, multi-painting projects.  If I go through with them and they are successful, they will hopefully keep me VERY busy for the remainder of 2014... and beyond.
More to come soon!