Candace X. Moore

Portrait Painting Vignette #5: Miss Julianna

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

The 5th installment in a 10-piece series. Today's subject is my young niece, Julianna. I wanted to try a child's portrait this time. I've heard they are more challenging than adults. Facial planes are less visible in a child, and their coloring is so delicate. This was painted, from a photo, on a gessoed panel in 7 hours.

Miss Julianna, 14x11", Oil on panel

Here's the painting progression...

Hour 1: I prepared the gessoed board several weeks before painting, to ensure it was dry. I did my usual linear block-in with thinned transparent maroon. I try to pull plenty of straight lines to give the lay-in good solid structure. If I need to erase, I use a Q-tip soaked in gamsol.

Hour 2: As usual, I pass through the ugly stage. (This painting is crap...it isn't going anywhere...try again tomorrow.) Push through the doubt...the clouds part...the sun comes out.

Color temperature was important here. I exaggerated the coolness on the light side and the warmth in the shadows, compared to the colors in my reference photo.

Hour 3: After a first pass on the fleshtones, Julianna's face began to emerge. At this point, I realized I made a serious mistake by not laying down the darkest dark at the start, to judge other values. As I laid in the dark hair value, I could see the shadows on the face were too light. Frustration. I had to make a second pass to darken everything. Won't make this mistake again.

Hour 4: Time to bring up the facial features. At this point, I worked up the mouth, nose, and the facial shape. Refined the halftones of the face to improve the likeness.

Hour 5: The refinement stage. I finalized the eyes and the neck, and added more halftones to get the face to feel more dimensional. Added highlights on the nose and around the dominant eye.

Hour 6-7: The finishing stage. My second major error was leaving the background until last. Next time...bring the background and subject up together. I added a warm green background to balance the cool blue-green in Julianna's clothes.

Finished the hair by modeling the light and dark sides, and adding a few brushstrokes of red, violet, and yellow. I also added that critical shadow, cast by the hair onto the right side of Julianna's head, from headband to chin. The object on her head is a ribbon pom-pom. I want it to add interest, without drawing too much attention.

I prefer a painterly look. I avoid blending to preserve brushstrokes as much as possible. The brushstrokes on the face are only visible at close range, unlike the sketchy background. I like that contrast, it makes the face appear even smoother in the finished piece.

Portrait Commission: First Mate

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

"First Mate" is a portrait commission of sorts...a painting of my brother and his son. Sailing is a part of life in my family. My father loved the ocean, and he passed that love on to my brother, who in turn is passing it on to his own son, his "first mate".

First Mate 20x24" oil on linen

The theme of this portrait is the bond between Ross and RJ, mirrored in their shared love of the ocean, and the family continuity it represents. The model boat in RJ's hands was given to Ross by my father, when Ross was just about RJ's age. Ross is also a painter, and the piece on the wall behind him is called "Setting the Mark"...a loose navigation term used in sailboat racing. Ross races sailboats. I hope these connections make the painting more meaningful to them as time passes. That's the deepest beauty of a portrait...it improves with age.

Technically, I started with a photo shoot, and an oil sketch from life to capture accurate values and skin tones. Back in the studio, I combined several reference photos from the shoot, then did a graphite tonal study, pushing lights and darks to simplify down to 5 values.

Value study in graphite

The final preparation step was the color study in oil to decide on the palette, color mixtures, values, the background, and to make sure the painting would read. Once I was satisfied, I transferred the image to a 20 x 24" stretched linen canvas as described here.

The color study, 8x10", oil on board

Ross and RJ were happy at the unveiling...that's the most important thing. But, after setting the painting against the wall for a few months, I see things that need improving. Artists should be their own best critic. Improvements: The edges need more variety; the background is too noticeable, the window in the upper right needs re-working...too rendered; the temperature shift from cool in the light to warm in the shadows is not convincing. Things I like: The texture of Ross' shirt, RJ's hands; the temperature shift between RJ's shirt and the toy boat. I'll do better next time. Each piece is a stepping stone...

First Mate 20x24" oil on linen

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As this year closes, thanks to all who visit here. 2011 was a year of turmoil...it's a difficult time on Planet Earth. But smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. Best wishes for the year ahead. C

Portrait Vignette #4: Morgan in Profile

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Another in my short series of oil portrait vignettes. I committed to ten of these quick portraits (<6 hours), as a training exercise to speed up my execution and keep my brushwork loose and painterly. Today's portrait was painted from a photo in 5 hours.

Morgan in Profile, 12 x 12", Oil on hardboard

This is my first time using gessoed hardboard, I usually paint on linen. I'm planning a large, low-key painting, and need a surface that will minimize glare. I've heard hardboard does that. I found it very different from linen. I needed my sables earlier in the process. But the paint went on more smoothly, like frosting on a cake, buttery. And it affected my brushwork...more flowing. I liked it.

Hardboard preparation: Very easy. I shellaced both sides of pre-cut 1/4" MDF hardboard, as a moisture/chemical barrier, then gessoed one side twice with Liquitex gesso, sanding after the second coat was dry. I toned with a mixture of Gamblin Fastmatte ultramarine blue and transparent earth red. That's it.

Here is the painting progression for "Morgan in Profile".

First 30 minutes: My usual linear block-in with diluted transparent maroon. I was attracted to this image by the long diagonal going from Morgan's forehead down her back. I liked the dynamic feel of that line, especially when set in a square format...nice contrast.

Hour 2: The difficult stage for me. Laying in the big shapes with average hues and values. Let's face it...it looks pretty bad. (Here comes my moment of doubt...this painting is a scraper...hardboard isn't for me...darn, I bought a whole bunch of it, too. Oh well.) But I persist, the doubt passes. The hair mass is roughed in with a warm mixture of ultramarine blue, transparent red oxide, and transparent maroon.

Hour 3: I continue refining the planes of the face. I do a first pass of the features after the big shapes are working. Also, start working up the background, trying to find a pattern that complements the subject, and provides opportunities for interesting edges.

Hour 4: Time for the hair and body. I went over the warm hair mass with cold, dark blue-black, allowing some warm to show through. I created the highlights with mid-tone purple, and light cobalt blue tint. I like the mix of warms and cools. Also refined the upper torso anatomy, clarifying the clavicles and the near shoulder and upper arm. Finally, I added more highlights to the face and some reflected light under the chin.

Hour 5: I'm refining edges and adding dark accents and highlights. Also adjusting values to create lost edges (for example, the caste shadow on the left shoulder and the back of the hair). More background workup, including the addition of some blue-green to add interest. Just going around the painting to find small improvements....Oh-oh, sounds like over-working. Put brush down. I know there are issues here, but I will resist the urge to continue. This painting is done.

Portrait Vignette #3: Amanda in Red and Green

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Third in the series...a portrait of my sweet daughter, Amanda. You've met her before (here, here and here). Because it's a simple profile, this portrait was easy to paint. One eye, half a mouth, no major perspective issues. It was painted from a photo in about 4.5 hours.

Amanda in Red and Green 14 x 11", oil on linen

If you're interested, here is an hourly progression...

Hour 1: I pre-toned the canvas with a mixture of viridian and transparent oxide red, using a big brush for variety. After drying overnight, I blocked in the head with thinned transparent maroon, adding value indications for the shadows.

Hour 2: I painted the big shapes on the face, using averaged values/hues. Also added some transparent maroon background. This will give me something to work into when painting the hair. The likeness isn't quite there, so I will adjust the shapes and positions of the features as I go.

Hour 3: In my opinion, this stage is most challenging. It's always where, just for a brief moment, I wonder if this painting will be a scraper. Must press on, through this moment of doubt. It's about adjusting shapes and modelling the small forms, then doing it all over again ad nauseum.

Hour 4: Finally...on to the fun part of fine-tuning the features and shapes. The likeness emerges at this point. I adjust the shapes of the hairline, forehead, eyebrow, mouth and chin. Added lights to the hair, and adjusted the strap to indicate shoulder anatomy better. I've heard an accurate hairline is essential to a good likeness...I think that's true.

Hour 5: At this point I refined halftones to convey subtle forms...for example the slight bulge below her mouth and the under-plane of her nose are essential for likeness. I painted some flesh tone into the hair surrounding the profile, to add halation, giving the flesh a slight glow. Also added the highlights and a few dark accents. Realized about half way through hour 5 that I was starting to ruin the painting. Put down the brush...step away from the easel...painting done...artist happy.

Portrait Vignette #2: King of the Road

2011-10-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is the 2nd in a series of portrait vignettes I'm painting to improve my studio technique. I'm painting under time constraints, giving myself less time than I think I need to complete each piece. It creates some urgency, and keeps the brushwork loose, which I like. Plus, I'm a slow painter, and need to accelerate anyway.

Today's model is Van, a favorite at the Watts Atelier. Like all good models, he brings the best out in the artist. You've seen him here and here. He hasn't been around for a while...but I hope he'll show up this winter. He's a bit of a transient, so I call this portrait "King of the Road". It took 5 hours to complete (vs. 6 hrs for the first piece in the series).

King of the Road, 14 x 12", Oil on linen board

Here is the hourly progression...

HOUR 1: I blocked in the drawing with gamsol-diluted transparent maroon (W&N) on an un-toned linen board. I went into some detail on the drawing because I wanted to study the values a bit. In order to leave some air on the lower third of the canvas, I was careful not to define the drawing too much below the chin.

HOUR 2: Every painting has an ugly phase, I've learned that from portraiture. When it's ugly, you just have to push through. Don't give up. At this stage, I laid down the large shapes I saw while squinting, using averaged values as described in an earlier post.

HOUR 3: I worked up the eyes and smaller shapes on the light side. I found it challenging to get accurate values on white canvas, so will probably go back to a toned ground for now. It can be slow going during this phase. Be patient and carefully model the smaller forms.

HOUR 4: This is the fun part. I'm still refining the light shapes and adding details to the dark side of the head and neck. Next, I go to work on the hair and hat, which add most of the interest to this portrait. They are the cool shapes that balance the warmth of the background and fleshtones, and they add interesting textures.

HOUR 5: Finally, I darkened the background to add variety and allow for some lost edges around the hair and hat. I'm also refining all my other edges at this point. Once the background is in, I can finish the hair. I also finish modelling the crown and edges of the hat, then add reflected light under the brim to make it pop. I add reflected light under the chin, paint in a suggestion of a collar, then put down the brush. It is done.

How to Paint a Portrait in 6 Hours

2011-09-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a series of portrait sketches to practice the never-ending skills required to master the art of oil painting. I'm giving myself 6 hours to complete each painting...once the timer goes off I put down the brushes and walk away. It's good training. Creates a sense of urgency. I need time limits so I don't overwork the painting, which is my tendency.

The first oil sketch in this series is a portrait of my lovely mother. It practically painted itself, which confirms that familiarity helps when trying to capture a good likeness. This was painted from a photo onto 16 x 12" linen board.

Here is the hourly progression........

HOUR 1: I took my time getting the drawing right. It's much easier to make changes at this early stage. I blocked in the head with a small bristle filbert and thinned transparent maroon (Winsor Newton), on a linen board pre-toned with a mix of ultramarine blue and transparent red oxide.

HOUR 2: At this point I was just trying to cover the canvas, get something down that I could paint into later. My fleshtones were mixtures of transparent maroon, yellow ochre light, viridian, and cobalt blue.

HOUR 3: I focused on modeling the smaller planes and features of the face. Once I had the fleshtones working, I completed the features to begin the finishing phase, and to reveal the character of my subject.

HOURS 4 and 5: Next came the hair, clothes, earrings and glasses. I like the vignette portrait, which was favored by Philip de Laszlo in the early 20th century, and is used by many artists today (eg. Schmid). It has a fresh, spontaneous feel and leaves something to the viewer's imagination.

HOUR 6: I added the pearl necklace and laid in some background, which is hard to see in the photo. I darkened the values on the shadow side of the face to define the front and side planes more clearly. Finally, I added a few highlights on the light side. Finished in 6 hours.

I showed my mother the final painting and she liked it. I learned a lot, too. Success.

Master Studies 1: Teachings of Richard Schmid

2011-09-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

In the next few months, I'll be painting master studies as a supplement to classes at Watts. I've done a few in the past (after Zorn , Zorn and Rembrandt), so I know their extreme value as learning tools. It's a tried-and-true approach...inexpensive, efficient, broad in scope, and the master teacher is always available. Master studies reveal all the subtleties in a painting, details that just do not register on a quick glance. They show you how the master applies "the rules". My goal with these studies is to improve my brushwork...to push the paint around with more finesse. I also want to focus on hair and backgrounds...2 of my weaker areas.

My Friend Bill, after Richard Schmid, 9 x 12"

Today's teacher is Richard Schmid. If you don't know his work, check out this encyclopedic blog post at Lines and Colors. I love the random energy and freshness of Schmid's brushwork. He pushes and pulls the backgrounds and foregrounds into each other, back and forth into a seamless integration. And he's a master of drybrushing, which he defines as "a brushing technique in which a clean dry bristle brush is used to pick up a small amount of undiluted pigment and is then dragged across the painting surface. In this way, the paint is deposited on the tooth or texture of the surface." The textural drybrush stroke is evident everywhere in Schmid's work. An important technique to master...also used often by Zorn.

Captain Don, after Richard Schmid, 14 x 11"

A few key things I learned from these studies:

Add a few really crisp, hard edges to balance the softness in the subject.
Lose edges when possible to integrate the subject into the background and add interest.
Contrast those lost edges with a few thick, juicy strokes near the focal point to pop the image. When I look at any painting, I like to cover those "zingers" to understand their role in the overall balance of the painting. Amazing the impact of a simple, well-placed stroke.
Finally, try pushing a loaded paintbrush against the direction of the hairs for some nice textures without a chunky block of paint at the start of the stroke. I've seen Schmid do this in his landscape paintings. Nice effect.
I like the look of an opaque light stroke over a transparent darker one. Visible on the hair in all studies posted here.

Sapphire, after Richard Schmid, 11 x 14"

The images for these studies came from Schmid's book Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting. After a quick linear block-in by hand with thinned paint, I painted these on linen board in about 4 hours.

Loveland Gentleman, after Richard Schmid, 9 x 12"

You can watch Schmid paint an alla prima portrait in the video The Captain's Portrait: An Afternoon of Painting with Richard Schmid. The video is VHS format, I just purchase it but haven't had a chance to view it yet.

Also, Dan Gerhartz's recent blog post on the value of master studies is worth a view. Dan is presenting on this topic at Weekend with the Masters here in California in a few weeks, so I'm sure it's on his mind at the moment.

Portrait Painting Progress

2011-08-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

"How long have you been painting (or drawing)?" It's a common question art students ask each other. We want to know how long it will take to achieve basic proficiency. The answer for most of us is...a very long time. Lots of students might not start if they knew what they were in for. If you want to be an artist, you better love the learning process. Michelangelo's comment on the subject..."If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem wonderful at all.”

Today’s post is a progression. It’s proof to myself that I am gaining proficiency. Since my focus is figurative, I take alla prima portrait or figure painting every term at Watts. The oil portrait sketches below were painted in class a few months apart. I got plenty of help on these from my teachers, Jeff Watts and Ben Young...but my work comes through, too. Learning art is collaborative.

Painted July 2011 --- Zara, with help from Jeff Watts.


Painted May 2011 --- Rose, with help from Ben Young


Painted March 2011 --- Model with green rim light, with help from Jeff Watts

And finally, here is my first portrait, painted back in June 2009. I remember thinking at the time that it looked decent. What did I know.

Painted June 2009 --- Micki, with help from Erik Gist

Current methods:

These were painted in 3 hours on 12x9" linen board, toned 2 days earlier with a mixture of ultramarine blue and transparent earth red, to a mid-tone gray. I use Gamblin FastMatte, a line of fast drying oils, for toning.
Paint smaller heads (5-6"), they're easier to complete in 3 hours. Seems obvious, but worth mentioning. Also, leave room for the chest and shoulders...good for composition.
I like to use a viewfinder to study the model for a few minutes before starting the painting. For me...a frame isolates the shapes and reveals the final painting.
For a good dvd on this subject, try "Alla Prima Portrait" by Robert Liberace. I watched this dvd the night before I painted the July sketch below. It was helpful.
I'm also thinking about Harold Speed's value approach every time I paint. It's fundamental, but a good starting point if you need some guidance.

A different way to start a drawing or painting...

2011-07-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

I usually start drawings and paintings with a linear sketch to establish the big shapes. Once the lay-in is accurate, the modeling of form begins. I's a common method. I was recently introduced to a more intuitive approach, in a class with Jeff Watts, which starts by massing in the big shapes...no guide lines.

In the 20-minute sketch below, I started by smudging in a rough background, which also established the outline of the figure. I worked this outer shape, back and forth with charcoal and a kneaded eraser, until it felt right, then added contour lines and interior details. I like the result. It has a fresh, painterly feeling absent from my academic drawings.

Wendy Seated, 24 x 18", charcoal on newsprint

Here's one more...


Wendy Standing 24 x 18", charcoal on newsprint (some edits by Jeff)

Here's the same approach in paint, from a one-day workshop I took in April with Vadim Zanginian. Vadim teaches a similar approach. I laid in the background and figure as 2 shapes (using an average hue for the fleshtone), working the boundaries back and forth until an accurate figure shape emerged. Details were worked up once the big shapes were set. An advantage of the approach is that the figure (or head or still life) and background form a more integrated whole.

LA model sketch, 12 x 9", oil on linen

If you want to loosen up a little, or you want to do something fun, try this method. The results may surprise you. Keep it quick, so there's no opportunity to refine and ruin the result.

Lessons Learned From Long Figure Drawings

2011-07-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here are a few figure drawings from a recent class on advanced drawing techniques. A standard life drawing class is about 2 hours of drawing time, barely enough time to get a solid finish. In this class, taught by Erik Gist, we had 4 - 6 hours of drawing time...enough to slow down and work on pose idealization, edge work, shape design, calligraphy.

I don't plan to draw like this too often. I like a loose, painterly result, and I tend to overwork and over-render my longer drawings. But they are a powerful learning tool, especially combined with shorter drawing exercises. Each approach teaches something different. Artistic cross-training.

Some comments on these drawings...

Model movement is a challenge during longer drawings. You can see movement in Jonathan's right leg, below. It started out lateral on the first day, and moved to center on the second day. If my anatomy knowledge was stronger, I could have pulled off the drawing. I left that twisted leg as a reminder to review my leg anatomy. Model movement is part of life drawing. If you're a figurative artist, you learn to work with it.

In the drawing of Stephanie, you can see where Erik adjusted the lower leg contours (darker lines). By reducing the size of the ankles and feet, Erik improved the overall feeling of form in the legs. Some artists idealize form in unique, and sometimes subtle, ways that define their style. Small adjustments in the right place can have a big impact.

Stephanie, charcoal on newsprint, 24 x 18", 6-hr pose

Jonathan, charcoal on newsprint, 24 x 18", 4-hour pose

If you are a student of figure drawing, get Henry Yan's beautiful book on the subject. Full of examples of both short and long charcoal drawings, using a variety of techniques. A good reference book.

Gesture Portrait Painting

2011-06-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Gesture painting is the name Jeff Watts gives to paintings completed in less than an hour. It's not a unique approach, many artists use quick oil sketches for various reasons (see here, here, here, and here, to cite a few) It is, however, less common to see whole classes devoted to the gesture in oil. In the Watts class, we paint 3 40-minute gesture portraits per session. The first painting is a warm-up. The second and third are usually more successful.

The goal is to capture an impression of the model (or landscape or still life), and learn something in the process. Brief time limits require an intuitive approach, with no opportunity to go back and rework. The results are loose and fresh. If you're a beginner or want to break out of a rut, gestures will accelerate your progress. They are great training for brushwork, paint mixing, and color harmonies. Decent drawing skills are helpful.

Methods and Materials:

If you try this in your own studio, paint for 20 minutes, take a 5 minute break to assess, then continue for 20 more minutes. Pick a focus like color, value, temperature, or brushwork.
To make cheap canvas board for gesture painting, take a larger purchased canvas board and cut it to size with a razor. Score 3 times on each side, then gently break at the cut line. Some students paint on small pieces of canvas taped to board. Easy to store, if you want to keep your work.

The pairs shown below are from 3 class sessions. Each painting is 6 x 8". The first of each pair is my work. The second is my start with Jeff's improvements. Teachers at Watts demo directly on student work. Click to view brushwork.

Sabrina with cool light

Sabrina, with Jeff's improvements

Male model with strong side light

Male model, with Jeff's improvements

Zara with strong side light

Zara, with Jeff's improvements

Jeff recorded an instructional dvd on gesture portrait painting through Liliedahl Video. I have this dvd and recommend it. It would be a good substitute, if you don't have access to a live gesture class. Watch the YouTube preview at the link above, to learn more.

Figure Painting using Harold Speed's Value Strategy

2011-05-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

Please excuse my long silence...sometimes blogging is not the highest priority.

Last week, I was fortunate to attended the Portrait Society of America's "Art of the Portrait" conference in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The event was an education on the state of contemporary realism, figurative art, and portraiture...which are inextricably linked. Inspiring pieces in the winner's circle. I felt fortunate to see these pieces "live". Photos are such a poor substitute. The competition, which is international, compares favorably with the BP Awards and Royal Portrait Society, in my opinion. For more information on the event go here, here , and here.

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Today's post includes some figures I painted last term in Erik Gist's "Figure in Oil" class. These were painted from life in 8 hours, so I consider them sketches. I used Harold Speed's value strategy, which I use for portraits, too. Briefly:

Start with a charcoal or thin paint block-in. Nothing fancy here.
Divide the figure into the big shapes of light, halftone, and shadow and paint those shapes with an average color for each.
Adjust the edges (soft, hard, firm, lost).
Finally, add the smaller planes and details.

The approach ensures that the light (value) falls off gradually down the figure, adding to the illusion of form. It's logical and a good approach for beginners like myself.

Rose on Orange, 20 x 16", oil on linen

I also did some figure invention here, pushing the curve of the back on both models (Rose was actually hunched over...the pose needed improvement). Erik Gist is a master of figure invention, and helped me define the rib cage and upper hip areas in both paintings. This sort of improvisation requires knowledge of anatomy.

Brianna with Shadow, 16 x 12", oil on linen

The color scheme for "Rose on Orange" was inspired by a Sargent painting from his early studies in Italy. I'm still focused on accurate values, the art of color is somewhere in the future for me. When I need inspiration, I pick a painting and use that color scheme. Sort of a color master study...a good way to learn.

La Gitana by John Singer Sargen

Another Portrait of My Daughter

2011-03-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

I finally finished a second studio portrait of my daughter, Amanda. She is intensely independent, but not quite ready to leave the nest...this is the dichotomy I hoped to capture in the portrait. Completion of this painting required a long and convoluted process, not unlike the process of parenting a child.

Fledgling Oil on linen, 24 x 18"

The seed for this image came from a painting by Giovanni Boldini, entitled "Portrait of Joaquin Araujo y Ruano"...a striking piece from Boldini's private collection. I chose a similar pose for Amanda. In the final portrait, she sits on a chair which was used at our kitchen table when I was a child, a symbol of family, but also resembling a cage or restraint. Behind her is a window overlooking bare branches and a broad sky...the wide-open world she will enter soon enough.

Portrait of Joaquin Araujo y Ruano by Giovanni Boldini, 1882

To create this work, I followed a procedure described in a previous post. The whole process took about 40 hours to complete

A few key lessons I learned during the process:

Don't force the model into a pose, it will look unnatural. Show the model what you're aiming for, then let her do the rest.
My primary reference image was a composite of Amanda in a synthetic background created in Photoshop. I learned how to create Photoshop composites from Digital Art Revolution by Scott Ligon. Very clear descriptions with step-by-step tutorials. Indispensable.
In my portraits, likeness emerges as the painting progresses. I am constantly adjusting the face to improve likeness, right up to the finish. I do whatever it takes to get the likeness, including moving features or scraping areas. If I'm using a photo reference, I often paint with the canvas upside-down.

This is probably my last painting of Amanda for a while. She doesn't want to pose for me anymore. I'm looking for a new muse...

Portrait Painting Using Harold Speed's Value Strategy

2011-03-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today's paintings incorporate a strategy for judging values that I described a few posts ago, from Harold Speed's book Oil Painting Techniques and Materials. The main difference here is that I'm using color, instead of just monochrome. Briefly, I lay in the big shapes of the lights, halftones, and shadows in a single average color, clean up the shapes and edges, then add the smaller forms and details.

It's a common strategy, just new for me. I get through the early stages of a painting faster using this strategy, which leaves more time for modeling, rendering details, and exploring color. If you are looking for a fresh approach to your alla prima work, this simple strategy might be worth a try. See my earlier post for more details.

Briana (cool light) 12 x 9, oil on linen board

Mr. Lincoln (warm light) 12 x 9, oil on linen board

Tammy (rim light) 12 x 9, oil on linen board

Rob (side light) 12 x 9, oil on linen board

These paintings were completed from life in 3 hours in a class called "Portrait in Oil: Exploring Different Lighting", taught by Jeff Watts. Credit must go to Jeff, who demo'es directly on student work in class. His changes significantly improved each of these portrait.

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I'm also posting the similarly-lit portraits from the first and second repetitions of the class together, to show what 9 months of progress looks like. I didn't use the "Speed" strategy the first time around, back in July 2010. I think that shows in the results. I see other subtle improvements here. My paint handling is better, I'm getting a bit faster and more confident with color, and I think the spirit of the model shows through more. Progress is slow but steady. I'll do another progress check 9 months from now.

Cool light portraits: left: Feb 2011, right July 2010

Warm light portraits: left: Feb 2011, right July 2010

Rim light portraits: left: Feb 2011, right July 2010


Side light portraits: left: Feb 2011, right July 2010

Added Note:
I attended the "Masters of the American West" exhibit at the Autry Museum in Los Angeles this past weekend. If you have the opportunity, see this show, especially if you are a figurative or landscape oil painter. Even if you don't care for the Western genre. It's not often one sees so many examples of mastery in one exhibit, and so many different technical approaches and styles, too. Inspiring.

Artwork Purchase

2011-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

I finally purchased a painting from Jeff Watts, a gifted teacher and the founder of our school. The first meeting of each painting class at Watts is usually an instructor demonstration and lecture. This piece is the demo Jeff painted for a class I'm taking this term called "Portraits in Oil: Exploring Different Lighting". There's something about it I find transcendent.

Jeff has an expressive style and uses lots of paint. It's hard to see from this photo, but the strokes are fresh and juicy, and except for the lights, the passages have a colorful, transparent quality. Beautiful.

Sacha oil on linen, 16 x 12

Jeff completed this sketch from life in 2 hours. Here is a brief YouTube clip showing his handling of a similar oil sketch. Worth a viewing if you are interested in the alla prima method.

A Simple Exercise for Judging Values

2011-02-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Trying to accurately record shape, value, edge, color, and temperature under the time constraints of an oil painting class is a big challenge. In his book Oil Painting Techniques and Materials, Harold Speed recommends that students focus on only one aspect of technique at a time in order to master them all more quickly. For mastering the judgment of values, he recommends a simple 2-stage exercise. The exercise sharpens the ability to see the large underlying value shapes that tie an image together and create the illusion of form. It's based on the observation of values on a well-lit cast or simple still-life. The subject is simplified into 3 values, then painted monochromatically as simple shapes. Once this foundation is laid, edges are adjusted, and the smaller planes and details are added. Dog before the fleas...forest before the trees.

I've summarized the procedure here, in case you'd like to give it a try...

The exercise requires white and any dark color that will produce a dark dark. I used raw umber.
Set up your subject (a cast or something with minimal local color) in strong light to produce a variety of shadows.
Block in a simple charcoal drawing of the cast on your canvas.
Study your set-up and decide on the value range, from lightest light to darkest dark. Put a dab of paint with the lightest and darkest values in the appropriate spots on the block-in. All other values will be judged in relation to these 2 extremes. Squint down to judge.
Lay in the background, ground and cast shadow as simple smooth shapes without detail. Be sure to get the average values right. Use thinned paint...you want to keep it lean at first.
Now for the challenge...squint to reduce your cast to simple areas of shadow, light and halftone. Paint these value shapes on your canvas.

The halftones are part of the lights, don't let them get too close in value to the shadows.
Judge the shadow average by comparison to the darkest dark. Never judge it by comparison to the lights or it will be too dark.
Remember, it is not the edges of the objects, but the edges of the value masses, that make up the visual impression.
Look for opportunities too lose edges.

Carefully adjust all edges between value masses for correct shape and quality (ie. firm, soft, hard or lost.)
The foundation is now finished, and it's time to add smaller planes and details. Paint smaller planes as lighter or darker tones consistent with the larger value masses containing them. Carefully check each value you lay down. Adjust edges as you go. The image will only read well if small shapes subordinate to the big statement.
Once you can consistently translate a cast or still life into a monochromatic value painting...add some color...the final frontier.

Here are a few of my results using some garden sculptures. Definitely helps with value judgment, but also targets edge quality and brushwork. I believe it's improved my class work. I'm more confident at the start, I know where I need to go...well begun is half done.

Final snail, 10 x 8 on canvas board

Snail caste painting at the "big shapes only" stage

Final rabbit, 10 x 8 on canvas board

Rabbit painting in big shapes only

I like Speed's closing comments on this exercise.

"Do less with your brush, and more with your head, at first. You are like a raw recruit handling a rifle for the first time. It needs a deal of thinking. Afterward, at the word of command, the action becomes almost automatic. And so with setting out your subject in simple masses...at first laborious, but eventually taking very little of your mental attention, which is freed to concentrate on higher things. Concentrate on developing a perception of visual phenomena in terms of simple value masses."

Added note: As I was writing this entry, I ran across a post at Paul Foxton's blog on this same exercise from Speed's book. My version is concise; Paul's is more eloquent and worth a read.

Art Book Love

2011-01-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm crazy for books...but you know that if you come around here very often. I've accumulated quite a few art technique books during my art student years. Today I'm posting a list of my favorite "A-list" art technique books...my "go to" books when I need help. This post doesn't include my books on artists, art history, art business, art philosophy...or my "B-list" technique books.

Most artists hunger for good art books...we're visual learners. Some would argue you can't learn art from a book, they're probably right. But reading about art is one way I get motivated and inspired, and I do pick up tips and techniques. Art technique books are nice to have around when a specific problem arises. And, occasionally, I get more from a book than from a class or workshop. Depends on the subject and the book.

I'm always on the lookout for new books...what are your favorites? I don't care what area of art you prefer, if you think it's good, I need to know...please post to comments or drop me an e-mail. Click on the images below to see my picks...a few of these books are hard to find, but most are available through Amazon. I recommend them all.

(Apologies to non-English speaking visitors for the regretful language divide...I only have English-language books. Of interest, a good US source for non-English art books is Nucleus in Los Angeles, California.)

Wrapping up 2010

2010-12-15T18:31:00.000-08:00

The term at Watts is over in a few days, and so is 2010. I am so ready for a break. I'm hunkered down, trying to get the brush mileage in, as they say...ultimately, the only way to learn how to paint in oils is through experience. This requires lots of starts and oil sketches, which is what I'm posting today. These paintings from life (12 x 9 on linen), completed in Meadow Gist's portrait painting class, took about 2 hours each. Each painting taught me something new about color, technique, materials, my own motivations...I strive for a painterly look, the big planes and broad strokes à la Sargent and Sorolla, but that is so much easier to read about than to achieve. I have a long journey ahead. There is so much to know and so many possibilities on the way forward.

My hopes for 2011 are that I evolve as a painter (ie. I master putting paint on the canvas where I want it to go), I launch a website, and my art becomes financially self-supporting. It is time.

Sincere thanks to everyone who connected with me this year. What a complete pleasure and inspiration to hear your candid words about your work and mine. Passion for art makes quick friends...I am grateful for our exchanges.

I'm spending the holidays in Greece with friends and family. Won't be back here 'til the first week of January. I hope you enjoy the quiet deep dark days of Winter, with those you love close by. Put on a warm sweater, light a fire, pour a glass of blood-red wine...give thanks for your art.

Best in 2011.

Recent Head Drawings and the Egg Effect

2010-11-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm back taking head drawing this term with Meadow Gist. Meadow can draw heads, and she's a good teacher, too. One of my professional goals is commissioned portraiture, so learning to draw (and ultimately to paint) a convincing head with a good likeness is important to me.

One of Meadow's recent class tips was the importance of the "egg" effect when modeling the head. That is the gradation of tone moving away from the light, both laterally and top to bottom. I know the concept, heard it many times, but didn't fully grasp it's importance until now. Just wasn't ready. I always modeled laterally, but not so consistently from the top down, which flattened my results. My chins were as light as my foreheads. Below are portraits drawn in the last 3 weeks. Compare the bottom head (without top-down "egg" modeling) to the 2 upper heads (after getting the "egg" tip). The tonal differences are subtle but the improvement is clear. It's a simple tip, but the good ones usually are.

If you are interested in looking at the work of other artists who really know their head drawing, check out:

the blogs of H. Edward Brooks or Nathan Fowkes. Very clear "eggs" there. Both artists also teach drawing. Look through older posts for some beautifully drawn heads.
the book Drawing the Head by William Maughan. A good instructional book, I refer to it often.
this gallery showing the works of Watts instructors and students. The school has a strong drawing curriculum and all the instructors are excellent draftsmen.

All drawings took approximately 2 hours, from life, using a Conte Pierre Noir 1710 B charcoal pencil on 24 x 18 smooth newsprint.

Inspired by Rembrandt van Rijn

2010-10-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

Portrait of Tom van Watts 2010, 20 x 16, oil on linen

Today's post shows the second of 2 paintings from the Rembrandt master study class. This portrait was inspired by Rembrandt's methods and incorporates his very limited palette. I laid the painting in from life, then finished it from a photo. The painting took about 25 hours to complete. The model (a Watts student named Tom) wore 17th century Dutch attire made by our instructor, Meadow Gist. He grew his beard out for the job...very authentic.

Not sure I was true to Rembrandt's methods, but I stuck with the limited palette of yellow ochre, cad red light, alizarin crimson and burnt sienna, plus black and white, and used only bristle brushes. I kept this Rembrandt self-portrait close by for inspiration. I modified the head tilt and length of the model's neck, lightened the feather, and pushed the color notes in the face to energize the flesh tones, something Rembrandt would have done. However, I used a detailed underpainting (shown below), something Rembrandt would not have done. Since I prefer painting wet-into-wet, I stored the painting in a freezer between sessions to slow drying, and used clove oil on my palette.

An added note: For personal reasons, it's been a few months since I posted. For most of that time I wasn't doing anything art-related. Oddly, that 6-week break improved my painting somehow. Must have done some mental processing during that break that helped me move forward. Good to know that we don't always have to be deliberately doing something to improve. Our subconscious is part of the learning process, too.

Rembrandt Master Study

2010-08-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

Master study of Rembrandt self-portrait, 16 x 12, oil on linen board

Master studies are such a powerful teaching tool. I'm always amazed by how much I learn each time I do one. My post today is a master study for a class exploring the techniques of Rembrandt van Rijn, taught by Meadow Gist. If you study portraiture in the West, it's hard to avoid Rembrandt. He casts a long shadow. It's good to be familiar with his work.

Rembrandt painted many self-portraits. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much info on this particular sitting. Judging from his hair color, it's was painted before 1652 (he was born in 1606). The image (see original below) came from the book Painting Techniques of the Masters by Hereward Lester Cooke. Several things about this painting appealed to me...the unusual lighting, the strong core shadow down the contours of Rembrandt's face, the subtle handling of value in the shadows, and, of course, that beret and earring. He had panache.

Self-Portrait, 36 x 29, canvas, Widener Collection

For the current class, after completing a master study, students will create an original portrait from life. The portrait should be inspired by Rembrandts' techniques and style, and incorporate his very limited palette, chiaruscuro, and the manipulation of thick paint layers to achieve his characteristic textural effects. I'm working on the second portrait now.

Here's one more self-portrait. Click on it to see Rembrandts' loose brushwork. Beautiful effects. (from Rembrandt: The Painter at Work by van de Wetering.)

Rembrandt self-portrait, 1659, 33 x 26, canvas, Washington Natl Gallery of Art

First Studio Painting

2010-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

That's Close Enough 2010, oil on linen, 16" x 12"

During this last break I tackled my first studio painting, a portrait of my 16-year-old daughter, Amanda. Human beings are so complicated at this age, and I was trying to capture that whole teen angst thing. I hope that comes across in the image. I followed the procedure described here, from the "Staging Artwork" class. Briefly, this involved value studies on small b/w thumbnails, followed by a small oil color comp, transfer to the final canvas using a free-hand/grid method, then paint. The painting took about 30 hours to complete, not counting the photo shoot. For the shoot I used a single overhead light to illuminate the subject, placing most of the face and torso in shadow, and brightly illuminating the arms. Warm reflected light bounces from the arms back onto the face. I wanted a lighting scheme that required a second look.

I used the limited palette of yellow ochre pale, cad red light, transparent oxide red (TOR), viridian, ultramarine blue, titanium white, ivory black. Keeping the palette simple let me focus on value, shape, and edge. Color will come later.

I'm trying to avoid over-blending, it's so easy to do. My preference is the flowing, painterly brushwork style shared by Zorn, Sorolla, and De Laszlo. In fact, the abstraction in the upper left corner of my painting is an homage, inspired by a similar pattern in the corner of a portrait Sorolla painted of his own daughter, Maria. During the break I picked up a few books, including Joaquin Sorolla by Blanca Pons-Sorolla, which I highly recommend, if you like his style. Also picked up a book on Degas and one on De Laszlo, both affordable and recommended.

Painting Progress

2010-07-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

At times I don't see much progress in my technical skills. Effort does not always immediately translate into improvement. That's when it helps to compare my work over time. The paintings above are from a class I just finished with Jeff Watts called "Portrait in Oil: Exploring Different Lighting". They're in sequence from first (at the bottom) to most recent (at the top). Each week I painted a 9x12 portrait in about 2.5 hours from life. Timed portraits are exhilarating because you don't have time to mess around. Make your decision and move on. They're about learning, not about a nice finish. Good practice. I think I see some progress here between the first and last portraits. Mainly, I see my brushwork improving and I'm getting more paint on the canvas. Baby steps.

Marc Delassio posted a worthwhile blog entry with some thoughts on this topic of improvement over time. The graph at the bottom of the post says it all IMO. Technical skill and artistic progress (real or perceived) are not always directly related. Progress is unpredictable and non-linear. You never know when lessons learned will finally gain traction and kick in. What a thrill and relief when they finally do.

Portrait Painting from a Photo

2010-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

This portrait was painted for a class I'm taking called "Better Color Through Observation", taught by Meadow Gist. The portrait was painted from a photo of a school model, using the Zorn palette (Yellow ocher, cad red light, titanium white, ivory black) as an exercise in observing and mixing color. The Zorn palette is a good starter palette, especially for portraiture. Lots has been said about it, so I'm not going to dwell on it here, except to point you to this recent interview with the painter, Ignat Ignatov. Ignatov spent a year with the Zorn palette, and has good insights on it's value.

The other benefit of this exercise was learning how to paint from a less than ideal photo. Realistically, we can't always paint or draw from life, so it's important to know how to use photo references effectively. Two things I learned from this exercise:

Cameras are designed to average out the values in an image, which usually under-exposes shadows or over-exposes the lights. Therefore, when painting from a photo, make the lights a bit darker and the shadow side a bit lighter...the way the human eye would see them.
Under standard shooting conditions, the camera records most edges as sharp boundaries, which is not how we perceive them as we view a focal point. To mimic the natural view soften edges away from the focal point, reserving hard edges for the center of interest. Poor edge control flattens an image and ruins the illusion of form.

Note: Meadow painted the forehead area. This painting was completed in 5 hours. I blocked the drawing in free-hand in graphite using a 3-inch grid as a guide.

Island Girl Brianna 2010, oil on linen panel, 12 x 9

Figure Drawing in White Chalk and Graphite

2010-05-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

This is the second of 2 drawings I did for Jim Hahns' Long Pose Drawing class last term. Here's the other drawing from the class. I was inspired to try the white chalk with graphite on toned paper after seeing the drawing "Carolina" by Jacob Collins in Juliette Aristide's book Classical Drawing Atelier. You can see many more examples of this classic technique in Anthony Ryder's book, The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing.

Comments on this drawing:

The head and figure block-in were drawn from life, and the finishing stage was completed from a photo, since I finished this after term ended. I softened edges and adjusted relative values to make the pose appear believable, even though this was not always what I saw on the photo. The drawing took about 20 hours to complete.
I choose a paper with a value similar to the halftone of my subject. I used Strathmore Series 400 Artist's Paper in Gotham Gray with a General white chalk pencil. I "stumped" with a q-tip to smooth out the chalk. A warning...this paper fades when exposed to direct light, I won't use it again.
The Bridgman anatomy class I took last term was always in the back of my mind. Very helpful for seeing subtle forms. I moved the models' hips to her right to exaggerate the pose and add some energy. If you try this, remember to move both sides of the hips by the same amount. The lengths of the legs may also need adjusting.
Finally, chalk is a very fragile medium. Fixative seems to dull it and exposure to breezes can knock chalk off the surface. But the result is delicate and beautiful. Just plan on framing the finished piece.

Zara 2010, graphite and white chalk on toned paper, 20" x 12".