On this blog post there are pictures from the process of the creation of a commissioned watercolor portrait that I just finished.
When it comes to portraits, I enjoy the challenge of making the artwork look like the original photo, so that the person is easily recognized. With this particular painting it was fun to make the surroundings more fantasy-like, since the client wanted to have herself in my world. I didn't want to go too far with the fantasy-world and kept the background simple, creating a peaceful atmosphere with not too much details on the background.I think I adjusted the shading of the woman's face for what felt like 50 times. Every time I thought I was finished, I found something to fix. At the end I knew I'd have to start the painting all over again if I was to keep on adjusting it too much. And so I decided to finally be satisfied with the result.
I sometimes keep fixing things on my artworks even when I'm sure I'm the only person to notice the difference. I tend to tell myself the most important thing is that I myself am happy with the result. That's why I'll keep fixing whatever I need to fix until I'm satisfied. I believe that's one of the main reasons I'm constantly improving: I never stop looking if I could do something better.