I have been working hard on a series of larger paintings.  I find that I need to work on several paintings at a time to avoid over working.  I become obsessive about painting and before I know it, I should have stopped an hour before.  I like to have a fresh eye and working on several at once helps this.  So I have about four paintings in various stages.  While I am working on all of these different paintings, I sometimes decide I need to concentrate further on some aspect, i.e. lighting, capturing the expression on the face with minimal detail or perhaps draping with the minimum of strokes.  I decided that the way to achieve this without adding to my stash of paintings was to paint a small 6X8 study and work on the aspect that needs my focus. Today, it was expression and minimizing the strokes.  I would love to know what you think.