This was painted from a live model using a very limited palette. The old masters only used four colors (black, white, cad red, and ochre) commonly referred to as the Zorn palette. I did add a little bit of alizarin and ultra marine blue for my final glazing.
Painting from life gives the artist much more information than painting from a photo. Skin tones are much easier to see. Ears are very red and so are the shadows on the hands! Some portrait artists use binoculars to get even more detail.
I love this painting, I feel like I can pinch his cheek! I also love your blog. From the perspective of a fan and not a painter, I’m learning cool new aspects of visual art.