This is an exercise using only oil paint brushes and a single layer, instead of relying heavily on layers of different transparencies, more standard brushes, and blending modes, to get the desired effect.
I found it rather intimidating to do, and rewarding. I relied heavily on references for this, I can’t draw lifelike figures without them.
Hell yeah, fantastic work! It’s truly a joy watching your art journey unfold! Also don’t sweat about relying on references, first of all it’s the best way to learn and second I’m pretty sure that every artist that goes for realism has to rely on references to some extend.
Thank you x2!