Actually, I like the mouth

Actually, I like the mouth. I'm not going to touch it. I like how gestural it is. I like, in a closely-related way, how I didn't get too fine with it; too anal; too obsessed with getting it right in all the wrong ways. Sometimes, in the quest for realism, we end up shooting ourselves in the foot. This, by the way, is true in many aspects of life; certainly true with Barack's mouth.

And I like the filigree of black lines that help define it--particularly the ones on the upper lip.



Now, if I'd cropped it a little less tightly you would see that that filigree (today's word) extends up and around the image-right side of his nose, helping to define that part of his face too. Which is good news because I believe I am going to mess with his nose, but only with the (image) left side. I'm just gonna push it down a bit.

I'm leaving the right side alone. I am, after all, not a fool. (I think I'm more of an idiot-savant. Which is a completely different kettle of fish.)

And, for you academicians, here is the same mouth from a few days ago:



Which is kind of fun. I mean, to see the difference. Or, better said, the improvement.

If you, like I, believe there has been an improvement. Hey, everybody gets a vote.