Finally...A break!

I am happy to be free for working on my own personal projects again. "I do get weary of making doll eyes ya know." I know that it is my income, but there is so much more to me than darn eyeballs!

August has come and gone ever so quickly. I turned 40... "I know, ...40!!!" I still cannot believe it! I surely do not feel like 40 probably should, but...I accept it--gracefully.

I have soo many more projects to do as usual, there are too many ideas and never enough time. I am thinking I will be doing something that I have not done in many, many years; Portraits. *Gasps* Yes you read correctly. A Fantasy Artist is flipping to: "The other side", Realism..."Ack!" I am a little surprised myself.
The Art may be based in realism, but it still falls under my category of "Fantasy". How?...you may ask...

Most people close to me know my affinity for the actor/comedian Craig Ferguson. I can write chapters of erotica with him being the main character, I maybe can also draw him as well. See, the thing is..that I have to be deeply intrigued by a person in order to make an accurate portrait. The last time I was this fascinated with a person, was around the mid 2000's. I loved Steve Irwin and all his crazy antics and watched all of his shows. I also was enamored with a contractor on either HGTV or DIY show, and he also was Australian. "Anyone remember James Lunday?" ...Well I wrote about those two men and was able to draw them as well.    
Bottom line: I have to be really "Into" a person on order for my creative juices to flow. I guess I like Scottish, and Australian Men, I suppose.

I plan to attempt a triptych. "Now, don't hold me to this...it could easily be disastrous!" If it does not come out, it will never see the light of day, if you know what I mean. I have been spending ridiculous amounts of time, procuring references from all methods of media in preparation for this endeavor. My frenetic efforts are paying off. I think I have enough images to get started with. I just need to buy some supplies. Since I have never done very much in the way of human portraits, I will need the proper set of Pencils, with many flesh tones, and several good quality graphite pencils as well. I love Bristol Board, but I think I need to go larger than the standard 9x12 pad I currently have available. I will have to see what I can find; I'm thinking maybe something sized around 15x20, or even 20x30. I still am not sure if I will go with a neutral, dark, or white background. Also..Will I Do Gray-scale, with graphite, or go Full-on Color. Either way, it will be an epic challenge for me, I have such high expectations, maybe too high...then I may never be satisfied with the outcome.  

I am open to any suggestions, and tips.

Wish me Luck!