This was the first portrait that I had done in almost a year, and my first real commission to paint a human being. The youngest son of two of my friends in the States had graduated this past Spring, and was heading off to college in the Fall. They wanted to surprise him with a painting beforehand celebrating both his graduation and participation on the soccer team.

This piece took a steady hand and a fair amount of gentle planning. I started with my usual pencil sketch, which I began filling in with sepia ink. Portraits are particularly tricky, especially for humans, since the features of one's face come into view through the interplay of highlight and shadow more than any type of defined lines.

I began filling in the pencil sketch by starting with the clothing and general outline before beginning to work on the texture of the hair. Once I had the majority of the inking complete, I began filling in with the watercolor, being very careful to build out the shading of his features with multiple layers of watercolor glazing.

His parents were absolutely thrilled with the results, and he was both thrilled and surprised. As for me, I don't know whether I was more pleased or just relieved to have completed it before he headed off to his first year of college.