Finished!

I was finally able to finish my painting last night. Got the final touches put into place and the edges touched up. If you track back through the updates you'll see that I did wind up adding some of the light glare from the original photograph. Initially I was going to leave it out, but in the end the composition was lacking something without it. For the record the pic I'm posting here is NOT the kind of thing I would use in marketing this painting to a gallery. It's a good example of what not to do with your lighting. The miracle of Photoshop has helped to clean it up a bit. I DO plan on getting this one scanned for future print production.
So as of today I'm placing this piece up for sale via my Etsy account (click the pic). I would like to take this opportunity to thank Cat Rocketship (who's art kicks ass) for turning me on to Etsy and giving me some lessons in online art marketing. Thanks, Cat.
I've decided I'll keep this piece posted on Etsy at this price for the next week. After that I'll be taking it to ArtDive for display and sale.
On a rather unhappy note I found out that one of the venues displaying my work has been forced to close its doors. East Village Books, a really top-notch place, has closed as of yesterday. It makes me sad to think that another great, local business has been forced out of business due to our current economic climate. The owners, Andy and Teri, are great people and I wish only the best for them in the future. Support local businesses! Keep your money away from the big chains as much as you can. Our country was founded on entrepreneurism. No WalMarts in the 1700's, eh? I'd, for one, would like to see that business model again.
At any rate, if you love the painting I'd love to send it on to a good home. Get in touch!

Cheers,

R