A portrait of a rugged old man with a scruffy beard, deeply weathered skin and a wonderfully expressive face. His crooked mouth and slightly startled expression give him a distinctive character that caught my attention as I painted him.

I could find no name for the man who posed for the original reference, so I decided to call him Leo. As I worked on this challenging portrait, his expressive mouth reminded me of Leo the lion — hence the name.

This painting was an enjoyable exercise in capturing character through texture, expression and the subtle details of an aged face.