This painting of the Divrei Yoel was based on a black and white picture. Whilst certain things like skin tone are somewhat easier to workout, eye-colour can be more complicated. When it is dark, usually it’s brown, but a light eye could be various colours. I felt that a grey/blue felt right for his face. The blue in the background is a nice contrast to the soft, pink tones in his face, making the painting feel more cohesive. In the picture I was working from, it seemed that Reb Yoel has a dewy skin texture. I enjoyed trying to re-create this by adding strong highlights along the cheek and around the eye.