Concept to Creation

I thought I would take the time to go from the beginning to the end of a canvas. I just finished this girl a few moments ago, however, I have yet to decide if she is truly finished. I'm the type that rarely finishes a canvas, either I will get frustrated halfway through, will come close to completing it and decide it can't be saved (as was the case with the Red Lady), or I will 'finish' it with a sense of unease. With this girl, I haven't decided if she is done or not, but I will stop working on her and think about it. She may not be perfect, but she is still mine.

Step 1: Finding a Model
I tend to use photos from fashion photography as my
main inspiration for my characters. I find a picture I like,
and adapt it to my own liking.

Step 2: Interpretation
Below is the initial sketch from the young lady above.
I rarely know what I'm going to sketch when I start off,
but somehow, it works out.

Step 3: The background
That's the hardest part for me to decide.
Picking a palate that represents the mood that I'm trying
to achieve can be difficult, sometimes it works,
sometimes it doesn't.

Step 4: Outlining
I outline my character with a white paint marker,
and then continue with a black paint marker.

Step 5: Paint?
It's hard to decipher if a painting requires color,
thankfully you can always paint over what you don't
like.

Step 6: Corrections
There were a few problematic areas I had with her,
so just like with step 5, I went over certain
areas with paint to figure out what I wanted to leave and take
away.

Step 7: Step back and figure it out
It's hard to tell if a painting is done. There are no right or wrong
answers with painting/art unfortunately. It's not like science
or math, there is no final conclusion. You could spend hours working
on a painting that looks like garbage, or 5 minutes
on one that comes out like a master piece. This painting took me about
2 hours (condensed) to complete. I haven't decided if she is
done or not, but for now I am going to leave her be.