The face has now been completed. All that is really left to finish is the hair. The shadows on the face are now at their full darkness. They had been held in reserve until now. Notice that the eyes have darkened, and all the details of the face, like the lips and nose are much more refined. There are approximately 5-6 layers on the face now, and you can see through most of those which gives depth and luminosity to the skin. The hair has also been strengthened with the darker values in the shadows. Very little paint is used at this stage, just the thinnest glaze of pigment mixed with pure walnut oil. Soft brushes are used to feather out any hard edges. The portrait is now prepared to add the detail and final highlights of the hair. This stage shows another 60 hours of work since the previous step.
