Following a Portrait Commission

The trial of the Embossing powders continues! I have taken some photos of fall foilage with an emphasis on backlighting that I think will work well with the metallic highlights I want. I'll post those photos soon.
Today, I am working on a new commission for a lady in New Zealand. She sent a photo of her father, who is retired. I am going to photograph the entire process I use and post it here, with the purpose of demonstrating how to get a good portrait from a photo. Below is the beginning photo, and I will walk you through my process as the portrait evolves!
The first thing will be to determine the content of the final painting. I don't want to just copy the whole photo, although I do like the "stripes" of sunlight in the background. They add interest and energy to the background.
For a portrait, I want to establish a "personal" connection between the subject and the viewer, so I will bring it in to make the expression on his face become the center of interest. I use a small "view finder made from an index card, and move it around sections of my photo to get the composition.
TO BE Continued......... :)

I like the sunlight coming in over his shoulder, creating good "whites areas" that I will leave the white of the paper showing through.