Max and Tilly: Stage 1

Time for a new commission!

This portrait has an endearing quality to it, a loving brother gently kissing his baby sister.

Stage 1: Painting in the drawing freehand with a thin wash of Burnt Umber. I started with the figure on the left first and then used him as a reference point to paint in the baby girl. As I drew with a thin brush, I had a soft cloth in my other hand to erase the lines I didn't want. And then, when I couldn't see it objectively anymore, I turned the canvas and the photo upside down and looked at it again with a fresh perspective, comparing the features, angles, sizes and overall proportions.
Tomorrow I paint.