Learning How to Embrace Autonomy

This painting is a portrait of a friend who inspired me. Her actions reminded me that my future is in my control, but only if I can learn to embrace my own autonomy and practice self-governance. 

I practiced a new technique when I painted this, often used by muralists. I used a "doodle grid" to map out where everything should go on the canvas instead of a regular grid. I digitally overlaid my reference photo on a picture of the doodle grid, and that helped me map out the underpainting.