Bobby, Underpainted

I'm revisiting an older sketch I did of a model, which is turning out to be fun because I wanted to investigate using different brushes. This time I used the acrylic brushes in Painter, to set down dabs of color before fine-tuning the features. It really felt like painting, as opposed to my usual tactic of painting within the lines, then refining the lines and painting further in layers. Here I used the brush to map out the colors roughly all on one layer, and then I'll refine the shading later, like most painters really do, I imagine. It was fun to just do, as opposed to planning it out.

Planning a painting is always my downfall. I get so stuck with the plan, I'm afraid to start it. When I let go and just do it, then I get corrective and constantly refine what's in front of me. It's the part of being an artist that's so perfectionist and natural, it's both exhilarating (because it's constant instinct honed by experience and also by constant discovery in the process) and excruciating (because you see what's wrong and try to correct it, but also sometimes fear changing too much that you ruin what's right).