I think the hardest thing I've ever done is try to capture not just the likeness but the character of someone. In still life you are creating an atmosphere but if you get a detail wrong on an object it doesn't really matter as no-one has the object to compare the painting to. Portraiture is different. A millimetre here or there can make all the difference to the eyes, nose and mouth and the subject and all their friends and family will immediately know if it's a good likeness or not.
This portrait is oil on canvas measuring 70x70cm so it is larger than life. When I finished I moved the portrait right to the other end of my studio to contemplate it for a while and realised that the eyes do follow you round the room. I don't know how they do that, but it's a bit of magic that wasn't intentional.
The eyes are the most important feature I think, especially if you're brave enough to have the subject looking right at you. You can have more fun abstracting elements further away such as the hair or clothes. I don't want my portraits to look photo-real, otherwise what's the point?
I learnt a lot from this painting, some things by accident. For example I could have made my job a lot easier if the head hadn't been tilted but it suited the character. Also just how soft you have to be in everything, lines are your enemy! Of course every time I look at it I'm tempted to edit a tiny detail but at some point you have to make yourself stop otherwise you can overwork it and even spoil it.
I love the quiet, calm, overwhelmingly kind, thoughtful gaze in this portrait. It's completely different from a smiley photo. It's goes much deeper. I love it!