Small oil commission begun

This is a 12x16 oil on stretched canvas- the beginning of getting it blocked in. So much more to go.
Kind of roughed in a background just to leave the studio with the canvas covered and to see if I liked a woodsy background on it. It does give the scarf some context, I think, plus it's very similar to the photo reference. I'll look at it again tomorrow and see what I think then. I was shown a different photo of this woman at a much younger age and she was beautiful, as she remained at this age. Her hair was all black then, with just a touch of white at the edges of her hair. There's a lot I want to do to warm her expression later on. I'll post progress photos as I go.
I got to have such great conversations with people today. The nicest people wander in. My dad is staying with me at the gallery during his visit, and we put together two new easels I bought on Sunday at Jerry's Artarama in Austin. They have a much smaller "footprint" than my French easel and the metal easel I've been using there. With space so precious, I needed easels that commanded less real estate.