Commissioned Portrait - Grandfather and His Cat, Part V

Last week was filled with interruptions. I did more erasing than drawing. 

When this happens, it's better to allow some distance and leave the drawing alone.

This did not concern Abraham, he was purring away in the warmth of his Papa's lap. 

I came back to it yesterday and all went well. 

Worked on the right arm, window, cat tower...

and the plaid shirt. No need to get into so much detail at this point, a lot of it will be done in the painting stage. I'm drawing on a bigger sheet so I can 'crop it' later in the 18" x 24" canvas size.

I corrected the hand...

 

slimmed the face, added some shading to hollow the cheeks and neck.

At this point, all the elements I've discussed with my client are present in the composition. I did a paper frame so I can move it over the sketch and choose the most pleasing composition.

Here we are. The general image for the portrait will be a 'head to knee' shot. The focus will be on the central figures, my client's grandfather and his cat. All the elements that my client wanted in the composition are visible (recliner, blanket, cat tower, plaid shirt ), but not in their entirety. Because there are many elements involved, I feel that being more subtile with the surrounding objects will make it less busy and distracting. The outer edges will be blurry so the eye is drawn inwards to the two main subjects.  I have a few questions for my client before I go any further.