We're near the beginning of the NBA season, and OKC artist W. Bennett Berry is nearing the completion of his portrait of Kevin Durant, right on schedule. Here are a few images and commentary of these final stages.

View full gallery here.

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For the final installment, there's not a ton of insight aside from the fact that I spent a couple of days trying to find the exact shade and hue of blue that I wanted.

"I almost went w/ text, as I tend to do with most of the figurative pieces that I've painted."

"But I felt that the composition, as it stands, worked without the text."

You can see here what Bennett thought it might look like with text inserted.

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Tomorrow, we'll see the finished piece. With any luck, Greg Gumbel will amble in to the tune, "One Shining Moment."