This painting started as an exercise. I wanted to see if I could paint a somewhat realistic body using absolutely no reference. It took about 14 hours, spread over a few days, on photoshop 7. Only tool used was the paintbrush tool. No smudge or dodge but for the effects layers.
I was trying to achieve a "Caravaggio" feel to the image. I wanted the body to come out of the darkness, so that I had to force myself to figure out how the light would fall on each body part in the most realistic way possible. This was a challenge to myself, to see if I could handle dramatic lighting and strong shadows.

Technique: Photoshop
Created in: 14 hours