Searching Somewhere Out There

Oil on panel · 9 × 12 in · Ramandip Singh

It had been a while since I was disciplined enough to sit down and build up a portrait like this, and I'm extremely proud of it. I don't paint many portraits of women — I'd avoided it because I felt I wasn't good at it — so this was about getting comfortable.

I started with the palette knife and switched to the brush for the face. What helped me combine the two styles was Galkyd Lite: mixed little by little with linseed oil, it gave me a good transparency and flow, slowing the paint down for more control in each stroke. This was my first piece using it.