Aaron Coberly Step-by-Step

Here's a nice step-by-step from Aaron Coberly:

http://www.aaroncoberly.com/2010/12/animated-painting-from-biginning-to-end.html

You can click on the first image to see it animate through the stages.

Of particular note is the range of frequencies present in the finished painting.  The hands remain very low frequency, while the head and hat get a relatively higher frequency treatment- though it's still not very high.