Charcoal Drawing from a Photograph. New Commission work in progress!

A quick update before I head back into the studio!  I'm working on a great project right now, a vision that one of my client's had in mind.  She really liked the pose from this watercolor of the female nude...

But liked the drawing style from one of my classic female nudes

So I pulled both of those together!  I staged a model in a similar pose, taking a bunch of reference photos and piecing together the exact look I wanted.

Then, I worked on a piece of watercolor paper that is mounted to foam core (gives a lot of stability to the paper) starting with vine charcoal and an eraser to block in the largest shapes and values.  The surface is 16" x 24".

Using a wet brush, and just clear water, I washed a few areas of charcoal where I wanted the lines to be softer and the values more subtle.  Once that dried, I went back in with a soft charcoal pencil and started pushing my values further.

I am still working on this piece - Making sure that the values are all accurate and everything is correct in scale.  Right now, seeing it on screen, the shoulder on our left is too dramatic - even though it is close to the light source, and even in my reference photo the lighting is quite dramatic at that point, it is "jumping out" too much. 

I think I also might push the value a little darker of the cast shadow from the model's legs to the wall...it's an important element. Even though the legs are probably the focal point, I did not place them in the top center of the page - I had to take note of the whole "L" shape of the model, placing the whole figure towards the left side of the page.  I think the stronger cast shadow would help balance the piece.

Any thoughts as I continue?

I am always open to discussing your visions, as well and would love to work on a project for you! Please contact me any time thru my Etsy shop or my Art Page on Facebook.