Imaginary portrait of Katarina - process

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 I found a board backing an old 16"X24" (45X60cm) frame. The picture had long since disappeared, so I took the frame apart. After a layer gesso on the board, I sketched an outline with a black sharpie marker.

Note to self - use a lighter color next time. I mixed gesso and black acrylic paint to mark the initial shadows in the face.

Immediately, the portrait changed from light and airy to something darker. The next step was to put the warmest highlight on top of the darkest shadows.
I left it for a few weeks and looked at it again. A mix of golds, reds, with a dab of blue for the neck, ears, and facial shadows from the emerging feather hat and earrings  ...
She needed definition between hat and face, so I blocked in the outline of hair. The face began to be more rounded and shaded. The necklace got color from whatever was on the palate.
Another layer, with more light and darks on face, hair, and dress. The eyes start to emerge with eyelashes and shading in the whites of the eyes.
The next layer warmed up the tones, while the background picked up reds and the ears became more flesh-colored. A touch of white appeared on the hair.
Detail of the face at this point: the rough wood surface resisted blending.
I shaped the ears and blended the left side of the face with a lighter wash of red and titanium white. Then I softened the beads and outlined the dress with tinted titanium white. With 2 reds and a brown, I defined the mouth. Dipping a toothpick in brown, I curved the eyebrows and shaped the hair.

I drew in the feathers with markers and acrylic. Using deep and medium blues, I shadowed the right side of the hat, defined the background, and toned down the dress pattern.

Then I named her for my grandmother's wild days: Katerina. 
Except that her lower face bothers me enough to work a little more ... 

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