#55: A Self-Imposed Deadline

Technically, the deadline for Portrait Artist of the Year isn’t until the 20th of February.

But in my head, it’s earlier.

I’ve set myself a personal cut-off point — a line in the sand — because I want the painting finished properly before the pace of life shifts again. Not rushed. Not squeezed in between other things. Finished with intention.

There’s something powerful about choosing your own deadline. It sharpens your focus. It removes excuses. It makes each day in the studio feel deliberate.

One Final Week

This week is my last full week of painting before I draw a line under it.

The main portrait — the one that’s been through its fair share of turbulence — is finally beginning to settle. After the push and pull of adding colour, the doubt, the stepping away and coming back, it feels like it has found its balance.

I’m no longer fighting it.

Now it’s refinement. Subtle shifts in tone. Adjusting temperature. Softening edges. Letting areas breathe rather than overworking them. The earlier panic has turned into concentration.

It feels calmer.

A Return to Black and White

And then, almost instinctively, I started another piece — a quick black and white portrait of Olivia Colman.

There’s something grounding about returning to monochrome. After weeks of wrestling with colour, it’s refreshing to focus purely on tone and structure again. No expressive glazing debates. No risk of “ruining” anything with a bold hue.

Just observation.

It’s reminded me that the black and white discipline I built my practice on hasn’t disappeared. It’s still there — it’s just now sharing space with colour.

Pressure in the Right Measure

There’s definitely pressure this week, but it feels productive rather than overwhelming. Everything has a clarity to it. Decisions feel more decisive. The painting feels closer to what I intended.

Setting my own earlier deadline has given me something important: control over the timing. Instead of drifting toward the 20th, I’m finishing on my terms.

Where It Stands

What I was and what I’ve become is nearing completion. The colour now feels integrated rather than imposed. The structure holds. The expression has space.

And alongside it, the Olivia Colman study sits quietly in black and white — a reminder of where I started and how far the work has travelled.

One more focused week.

Then I submit.

.M.

Be real.

Make art.

If you’d like to learn more about my creative process or see my latest work, feel free to reach out or check out the rest of my website.