How to paint Kevin Durant: Day 7, almost finished

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."