Jesse Williams studies

Boy, I sure do a lot of portraits!

I wasn't crazy about how the one on the left turned out. I fiddled with it far too much trying to get the likeness accurate. The one on the right, by comparison, I painted while more relaxed, and it shows. It's amazing how much better art turns out when you're not twisting yourself up into knots.

Believe it or not, some of these portraits are meant to be studies for full illustrations. It's just organizing myself to get them done that's the problem. I might need to meet myself halfway with a little mental trickery: start a portrait study, then beef it up with a background or some supplementary elements.