Every so often I take a slight turn from the normal painting path in hopes of a surprise. What usually happens is that I make a sketch, blow it up, refine the sketch and then cover it all up with oil paint. I always miss the soft edges, thumb smudges and free mark-making of the drawing.
Lately I've been trying to incorporate more of my pencil drawing into my final paintings. Here are a few new illustrations with the new direction.

'John Hopkins HEALTH' magazine – Pre-Teen Anxiety

I also thought that I would cut some time off of the entire process. However, it seems that I've added more. The drawings now have to be more detailed and tonal for the painting to work.

'Financial Planning' magazine – Succession Planning