My background

This is a painting I attempted in 2006.  The pose was chosen from a series of photos I took of a model I met online.  It took a great deal of time to layer the paint and get the effects I had in my head.  I have more recently decided that painting from photos is a bit of a hurdle, since you are effectively producing a 2D version of something already rendered 2D by the camera lens.  I think this plays havoc with the feel of a painting, making it look flat.  Perhaps it comes down to the artist's skill to reduce that effect, but I steer clear of photo source as a result.

I like the way the hand ended up and most of the texture of Hayden's skin :)