My Method for painting portraits! Day 1 & 2

Day 1

I have been asked what my method is for painting portraits and this client has graciously let me post photos as I go along.  Day 1 consists of the photo shoot.  So with taking the photos, editing them and posting them for the client to see, I'm calling this day 1.  What a delight this little girl was to sit and pose.  Just beautiful!  The photo shoot is included in the price of the painting and I put all the photos on a disc for the client.  

Day 2

I print out a grayscale copy of the photo and put a transparency over it that I keep in my files of a pre measured grid.  I then draw the same grid on the canvas and draw on the canvas with the grid as a guideline.  It's easier drawing one square at a time than looking at the whole picture.