That painting that breaks your heart

I am taking a break from my painting and thought now would be a perfect time to share some of what I am doing.   

For about three months now I have been working on a double portrait. I am not a strong portrait painter so it has been a little difficult for me and the subject doesn't make it any easier either. It is of my grandparents who I adore and miss. I am a little anxious as well because I fear I will be in the spot light of my whole family and trust me, we have a very big family with a lot of opinions. However the one that I care most for is my grandmother's. My grandfather passed away in 2001. 
One day I am going to paint another portrait of them but at a very large scale. This painting is only 24 x 16. 

The photo of the ear is my grandfathers. I just wanted to show off some of the skin tone. I am proud of the colors that I have come up with. I had a really hard time figuring out what colors to use at first. I worked on an old man painting and the flesh tones came out perfect! However, I couldn't repeat it. Then I was going through some old notes and saw it! I actually wrote down each color and put a little color swatch on the paper next to it. 

I have tried and restarted three different times on three different canvases. 

Here is a photo of all three next to one another just to give you an idea of my struggles. You can see that the painting to the far left is the one I am keeping.  

While painting this painting, I have been brought to tears because of how much I care for and miss these two people.

This photo of my grandma's hair is where I am right now. I am not sure how to clean up the sides of her scalp but I will figure it out.  I will do their glasses and things the very last. So I will keep you updated! :) Thanks for tuning in.    

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