June/July Summer Project Progress

I've had a very busy summer so far, which has made progressing on my summer project difficult. However, I've taken these two months to think a lot about what I'm going to do, and, more importantly, what I actually want to do. Looking over my old work, I've had a hard time fleshing out a specific theme or idea that I enjoy pursuing, but I have consistently enjoyed portraiture. I really enjoyed my "head" project, an oil portrait of my twin brother and I exploring childhood and holding onto the past. However, I haven't been very attached to this theme. Instead, I think I want to shift to a broader focus on identity and keep my subjects more flexible. That being said, I find it easiest to get references for my brother and myself, and I do like the idea of exploring our relationship over time. For my heart project, I'm thinking of possibly doing another oil pastel portrait of my brother, but in more detail and on a larger scale. As for my head project, I took a reference photo about a month ago that I think could be a promising exploration of identity and perception. After doing a long series of play pages during the year on hands, I thought I would enjoy trying to paint them with such an interesting reflection. I also want to continue to stretch my comfort zone with color, and am thinking of including the green phone and blue tank top and then making the background a bold red for a three-way contrast while still keeping a level of realism in the subject.