I'm shipping it off, like it or not.
Terri, thanks for the tip to the thread on restoring tooth. I happen to own a can of retouch varnish from my college years. Here all this time I thought it was just the quick fix gloss to spray on twenty minutes before the assignment was critiqued! I knew it worked to pick up areas of dull paint, but no one ever told me it actually improved the working surface!
Anthony, alas, I think we are victims of our modern perceptions. Every time I draw or paint a person without that signature "say cheese" smile, I get comments about how sad or depressed he looks. My husband thinks even half my smiling visages look too sad. And he seems to represent the everyman in his views, because my clients comments almost always mirror his. I suppose it is up to us to express our society how they want to be remembered. And since technology can capture the most fleeting expression...
Actually this portrait started out from life, but the husband didn't want his wife to be memorialized forever as a placid 50-something woman. He wanted "that look she gives me." When our attempts to capture that certain "look" failed, his next preferred option was to use his favorite old photo of her. So, here we are. He loves it; she's not sure it looks like her. But he's the client.
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