I've set aside the Johnny Vegas portrait as I think the pose just isn't working for me. I need something a little more "Johnny." That being said, I got to spend some time with an old friend, Scott McLeod (McCloud is the popular spelling) while away in Cali. I got to sit down with him over some Bubba Gump and have him talk to me, in depth, about "City Silent." I couldn't resist snapping some quiet reference photos as Scott was in full explanation mode, being totally himself. That's what I want in my portraits. He's so gestural I was tempted to add some other, disembodied hands to imply more action. When I did, it looked more like people reaching in from the side and wasn't doing anything to really help. My partner pointed out, too that the foreshortened hand up front was doing enough action on its own. The top is the image in greyscale that's headed to the vectorizer and color. The bottom is the pencil drawing, all done on the iPad using the grid system. He's a tough face to capture as I don't want to make him look too old, and there are certain, important lines that make his eyes look a little sad. I've been told he looks more studious than old, which is what I'm going for. Final to come. And then a likely break from art as I'm off to Chicago middle of next week. It's a busy season.