Since we’re not really celebrating New Year with a party or anything, I’m painting :p And the TV is on in the background…Robin is watching QI.

Anyway…it’s another 30 minutes left until this decade is over here in England and I’ve done some more work on Bette. Her eyes are now ready except from the lashes. Eyebrows are done (just as painted in the photo as they are in my painting) and the nose and lips have had a makeover as well. As I’m painting details now I’m also correcting any shades that might be too dark or too bright.

There’s a golden rule when it comes to shadows and highlights btw. This was one of the things I was taught a long time ago when it came to oil painting, and it goes for any media as long as you’re working with realism.
Unless you get the proportions and the sketching right, you can never repair that mistake later with shadows and highlights. No matter how much you try, you will never change the shape itself of any object that way.

And that’s why I do shades and highlights straight after the sketch at times. Especially if I’m not 100% sure I’ve got the sketch right. Otherwise, when all the details are in place and everything else is done, it’s a tad too late to realize that the shades you add in the end won’t do any good at all. And starting over is not  my thing.

Well…2010 is closing up fast and I hope you’re having a great time, no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
And do give someone you know is alone a night like this a phone call. Wish them a good year. Can’t end the old year and start the new one in a better way :)