Perette - study from life

A closer look at my study of Perette's profile.

Perette - Profile in Oil

Perette was a very interesting model who is also a writer and techie - my son was very impressed to read that she developed UNIX kernel components as he is an avid user of Linux.

Photo Credit: Loree Harpole

Marisa - Painting in Progress

This lovely young model is an artist who designs the most delightful brass jewellery!

Painting Sidelined by Family Responsibilities

I have had a difficult fall and winter. First, my elderly parents needed help due to a sudden health crisis. I traveled across the country to British Columbia to assist with moving them out of their home of 40 years. This involved sorting through decades of accumulated stuff and then trying to organize what was left into a very small space.

I had only been home a couple of months and starting to try and catch up on things when, sadly, my dad suffered a fall and after a few days, slipped into a coma and passed away soon after. He was 91 years old. It doesn't help that I have probably bitten off more than I can chew by going back to school and studying nutrition part-time as well as painting full-time.

I am sure some of you have lost a parent and know that it is an emotional minefield. I hope to navigate myself out of this funk and end up back in the studio soon.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to contact me and express their condolences. I do appreciate it greatly.

Robert Genn in the Bugaboos

I thought I would show something I started and have yet to finish. Here is the venerable Mr. Robert Genn in mid-lecture. I was fortunate to be included in his Bugaboo heli-painting adventure in September 2010. He is a really great guy and something of a sage when it comes to painting and life.

I liked the unusual light effect here. Hopefully posting this will motivate me to finally get the portrait completed - I can see all sorts of things that need tweaking!

Coincidentally, I just read the most recent letter on Robert Genn's website, "The Painters Keys" , and was gobsmacked by his tale of getting a call from a broker who told him to bring over any old painting and he would be presented with a cheque for $60,000. Wow. Hmm, wonder if that guy could use a portrait of Mr. Genn as well?

Blogtalk Radio - Artists Helping Artists

I am excited to announce that this blog was one of five randomly chosen to be critiqued by fabulous artists and radio show hosts Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry of Artists Helping Artists.

I hope they can give me some advice about how to deal with and maybe amalgamate the plethora of blogs I write - this blog about my portraiture, my blog for other paintings: Painting Color and Light, my blog for other artists: Thinking About Painting, my travelogues: Prague Idyll and Paris Sojourn and my eco-lifestyle/food blog: Creative Lifeskills. I also have an abandoned blog for posting my sketchbook pages: Sketchbook by Laurel.

I obtained a domain name, foodartlife.com, where I was planning to put everything except the portraiture, but I am guessing that maybe that is not focused enough.

Anyhow, be sure to tune in to the show today at noon, eastern standard time, or download it afterward if you miss it - should be fun!

Keely

Beautiful Keely, wearing a fur stole belonging to Joanette Egeli.

I still need to finish the earrings and add the necklace, and a few more subtle changes here and there.

Liz

Liz, a very attractive woman, and mother to Lauren, was a pleasure to paint.

Lauren

Lovely Lauren - a gorgeous young woman! I still have a few changes to make, but this is almost finished.

I was also privileged to do a portrait of her very good looking mother, Liz, seen in the next post. They both like to wear black!

Elena

It was a pleasure painting this lovely young woman mainly from life sittings. She is an artist herself, a dancer and has a sweet, sunny disposition. As a senior in high school, she is looking forward to a bright future, whatever path she chooses to take.

Dante

I think I still need to make a few tiny adjustments to this portrait, but I think I have captured this very appealing young man.

*Update - tweaks have been completed!

Plein Air Today Published My Photo From Bugaboo Trip!

Not this photo - this is a shot of me on our last day out in the helicopter, at Cobalt Lake. The published photo (found here, among other photos of plein air painters going to extremes) shows our helicopter perched beside a mountain top lake, waiting for us to finish our plein air paintings.

If you dropped by because you were looking for more photos of the trip, go to my other painting site and scroll back a bit!

I was painting in the wind, the snow, the sleet and the rain while struggling with an umbrella with one hand and holding my brush (and occasionally trying to keep my tripod holding my painting setup from blowing over) with the other hand but I loved every minute - what an adventure!

For fellow artists, I also have a blog with information for painters, so check it out!

Molly - Pet Portrait

I debated whether to post this painting on my portraiture blog or my blog for all my other painting subjects. I do consider this a portrait as it captures a unique individual who just happens to be a dog.

My Article on Berthe Morisot

For those who belong to The Portrait Society of America, check out my article on Berthe Morisot in the 2010-4th quarter Art of the Portrait Journal. I find her story inspiring, as she managed to combine a husband, a child and a career in a time when professional activities by an upper class woman were frowned upon, to say the least. Her mentor, Manet, once said it was a shame she was a woman and her contemporaries called her the "quintessential" impressionist.

Fiddler's Hill 2011 - Final Group Shot!

Another Monochromatic Underpainting

I am going to keep this as an example of this method of starting a painting and start afresh on another canvas. I may not even do an underpainting for the actual piece! Living dangerously is fun sometimes. I usually work in at least a few layers anyhow, it just seems to take me that long to get to where I want to be.

Frank J. Reilly wash-in method

I prefer to call this method a "wipeout" because it better describes how you do it and because it sounds more fun!

I plan to keep this as an example of this method of starting a painting and use the color study I also did from life (which I really don't want to share as it is pretty wonky, being done in an hour or so) to create a full color painting.

Portrait of AJ

Star Portraits

I just returned from a fabulous plein air painting adventure - traveling by helicopter in the Bugaboo mountains!

That is the good news - the kind of disappointing news is that I got a call from Star Portraits (a television show featuring 3 artists painting a celebrity) asking if I could participate in the show, but the dates were the same as my trip.

Even though I won't be one of the artists painting this season, be sure to check out this fantastic show. Some of the celebrities that will be painted are: David Suzuki, Jeanne Beker, Tanya Kim, Gordon Pinsent and Jim Cuddy.

The show airs on Bravo!, beginning on September 11, 2010, Saturdays at 8 pm with repeat viewings on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Tune in and enjoy a celebration of portraiture - that's reality TV I can get into!

Preparatory Sketch

There was a lot of glare so my teenage subject is squinting a little, even though he is sitting in the shade.

Oil Sketch

I did this sketch while my young model watched a movie, about an hour and a half. I don't think he held the same position for more than a few seconds!

Opening Night for Canadian Olympic Athletes: A Dialogue in Art

As you can see, it was quite a crush!

Speeches were given, an Olympic torch was passed around everyone enjoyed viewing the paintings.

Donovan Bailey at The Spoke Club

Portraits of Canadian Olympic Athletes on Display at John B. Aird Gallery

My portrait of past Olympic Gold Medal winner Donovan Bailey will be on view at The John Aird Gallery in Toronto, Ontario from March 2-26, 2010, along with many other portraits of Canadian Olympic Athletes.

The gallery, located at 900 Bay Street, is open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 6 pm.

There will be an opening reception on Thursday, March 4 from 6pm to 8pm, so please come join us in celebrating the accomplishments of the athletes and how they have been portrayed.

Donovan Bailey Portrait - Detail

Here are the hands and the bling - the secret to painting jewelery is to not spell everything out. Human vision is selective - in other words we focus on one thing and everything else is peripheral. Leaving something to the imagination of the viewer makes the painting more interesting and truly realistic, something photography is unable to accomplish.

Donovan Bailey Portrait - Detail

Since this is such a large painting, I thought I would post a couple of details. I always want to get up close and put my nose next to paintings to see the brushwork and examine how the artist made the piece, so here is a close up of Mr. Bailey's head for anyone else who is interested in examining it more closely.

Portrait of Donovan Bailey, Olympic Gold Medalist

This painting was designed to bring attention to the head - the value of the background was lowered and the collar of his shirt on our left (the lightest value mass) brings attention to the face. The suit was the darkest value mass. His hands and cuffs, which can steal the show if you are not careful, are muted in comparison to the head/collar. The watch and ring are represented by an economical number of brushstrokes. I eliminated a lot of bottles of liquor that were sitting behind him, to simplify the design. I didn't paint every wrinkle in his suit, just the ones that showed action.

I had to use photographic references for this painting, since I was only given a grand total of 15 minutes with Mr. Bailey, but I used all the knowledge I have gained in working from life to create the piece. This is definitely not just a painted copy of a photograph.

I also researched Mr. Bailey and read everything I could find written about him, in order to get a handle on his personality and current interests. With this information and what I learned from my initial meeting with him (when he viewed my portfolio) I felt like I had a pretty good sense of the man.

Monochrome Block In for Donovan Bailey Portrait

In this monochromatic sketch on my linen canvas, I have mapped out the values for the finished painting.

As mentioned in the previous post, I did a wipe out after an initial rough sketch to get to this point in the process.

Initial Sketch for painting of Donovan Bailey at the Spoke Club

Here is the full size sketch of Donovan Bailey, done on a couple of large sheets of 24x36 newsprint taped together.

Making a sketch allows me to get the drawing right and then move the piece of paper (to position of the figure) around the canvas to see what works best for my composition.

Since I have to work from photographic reference material for this piece, I don't have the luxury of life sittings and the freedom to just start painting with my subject right there in front of me, full size, to compare. Therefore, the information I have in a small photograph on my computer screen must be blown up to a life size image.

An easy way to transfer a large sketch like this to the painting support is to oil the surface slightly, brush on paint mixed with a little medium, lay the drawing on top and draw over your lines. Afterward, I use a rag to wipe out the lights and add some details in darker paint and to produce a massed block in of the composition.

It is important to keep in mind that this is a general guide for placement and I do not try to stay within the lines when painting!

Once the monochrome painting is dry, it is easy to maintain the planned notan (value pattern) and not go off track from the initial idea.

Allison

This young woman is so gorgeous, I felt compelled to capture her beauty.

Adding the necklace was fun! You can really go wrong with jewellery if you try to paint it with a lot of detail, just a few fine strokes and a couple of highlights and you are done. Examining some of Sargent's work in this regard is always illuminating.

Anton - Young Canadian Opera Singer

I love painting from life, but in an ideal world I would have at least 6 hours (and preferably much more than that) rather than a mere 2 hours or so (of actual painting time) to achieve an alla prima painting. I think that is why a lot of artists choose to draw in this situation because you have time to get the drawing right or work on color - try to do both and you are doomed!

Even the top portrait painters in the world often don't nail the likeness right away. That is what I remind myself so I don't sink into despair and burn down my studio.

I started this painting with a wipe-out and achieved an image that looked somewhat like this handsome young man, but everything was just a little off. Group situations are tough, because you have to squeeze in wherever there is a spot and sometimes you are quite a distance away. I won't even get into my eyesight - I don't want to be classified as a complaining curmudgeon, although I think I am rapidly approaching that status. Just when you start to know what the heck you are doing you start losing your faculties.

I also decided to cool the background, so instead of a warm brown it is now a mauvey grey, which brings forward the warm skin tones of my subject.

So, I ended up reworking the likeness from a photograph after the fact, but something still was not right. I lined up my computer screen with the painting and, from a distance, finally saw that I had his eyes too close together and now, voila, after about 6 hours or work, here is Anton.

Portrait Society of America - Cecilia Beaux Forum Mentoring Program

Recently I received some great news - I have been chosen to participate in a mentoring program, which is a project of the Cecilia Beaux Forum, a subgroup of The Portrait Society of America.

The program was developed to support the aesthetic and technical growth of female figurative artists. The program starts on October 1 and will last 9 months.

I am very excited about this opportunity!

Painting from Life - Portrait Society of Canada open studio session

This young man, Anton, is an opera singer.

He has quite a distinguished air, even at his young age and it was fun painting his portrait!

Make Your Own Painting Box

For any fellow painters out there, here is a shot of one of my pochade boxes, used for plein air work.

If you would like more information about how to make one yourself, go to my other painting blog (for non-portrait work) for instructions and more photographs:

www.mcbrinepainting.blogspot.com

Technical Difficulties

Now that I have some paintings ready to post, my computer, along with all my photographs is out of service.

The AC adapter cord started making a weird buzzing noise and emitting an unusual smell. Not good.

We ordered a replacement last week, and it arrived early, but it turned out that Dell sent the wrong part. Arranging to send it back was a snap. However, it took 2 hours on the phone with Dell, getting transferred at least 15 times, to finally order the right one (I hope) so if all goes well the correct one will arrive next week.

I am seriously considering crossing Dell off my list when I next shop for a new computer. Dell may be saving all kinds of money by outsourcing work overseas, but the customer service was horrendous.

When we were able to speak to a person who was actually in Canada (at about the one hour mark) she said there was nothing she could do and that she herself had been transferred several times trying to help us fix the problem.

Until then, I guess I better get back in the studio and get some work done!

My Not So Simple Life

Obviously, I have not posted here recently. We hope to be simplifying and downsizing soon, so I have been preoccupied with getting things sorted out. I have been painting portraits though and hopefully will get around to posting some of them soon!

Allison

I had to repaint much of this today after looking at it for a long time and finally realizing where I had gone wrong. Sometimes it takes a lot of looking to really see where the problem lies!

I neutralized the background and lowered the shoulders a bit to give a more elegant appearance to the portrait.

Adding the necklace was fun! You can really go wrong with jewellery if you try to paint it with a lot of detail, just a few fine strokes and a couple of highlights and you are done. Examining some of Sargent's work in this regard is always illuminating.

My 15 Seconds of Fame

In my quest to become not just a good portrait painter, but a well rounded artist, I have been doing quite a bit of plein air painting. I was recently photographed by a reporter and I made the front page!

Click here and scroll down to October 13, 2008 post to see the brief newspaper article and picture!

Yet another work in progress . . .

All of these paintings were started from sittings.

I am making a few adjustments to the likeness after the fact but trying to maintain the freshness from the initial painting session.

Linda

This is looking much more like my subject, but I can still see lots of changes I need to make!

Sunny

24x36 inches
Oil on Linen

Sunny - detail

Study from Life

I am going to be doing a rather large painting of this gorgeous young woman with her lap dog, Lucy.

I did a head study in about 2 hours in a south facing room.  The light was changing constantly and at about the one hour mark, the skies darkened and there was not only a thunder storm, but it HAILED as well.  I couldn't even see my paints since it became so dark in the room!  The result is not as wonderful as it might have been - I can see all kinds of mistakes, but for such a short time and using color rather than a monochrome sketch, it is not too bad - a fairly good start and it was great to have the time to stare at my subject and take in some impressions I can use later.  

Drawing - Graphite on Paper

Gorgeous Work by Cecilia Beaux

I was particularly happy to be able to attend the conference this year since the final days of a special exhibit featuring Cecilia Beaux were also happening on that weekend.

Portrait Society of America Conference 2008 - Philadelphia!

Dawn Whitelaw painting her Thursday evening demonstration. Dawn uses a only three colors and achieves gorgeous results. For more information about her method of painting, read my article about her portrait workshop at www.thinkingaboutpainting.blogspot.com.



I liked this bouquet of flowers in the lobby of the hotel.



Detail of the finished piece painted by Burton Silverman.



A split screen image during the demo by Burton Silverman.



Michael Shane Neal presenting information about portrait commissions from start to finish.





This photograph graphically illustrates a few facts:

1. I need a lens with a wider angle to photograph buildings;
2. Philadelphia is a city with gorgeous architecture;
3. Although photographs can be useful as a reference when painting, one should never, ever copy a photograph verbatim. I spot this kind of photographic distortion in paintings all the time now.

Back to the conference - in addition to all the information and suggestions from the platform, it was wonderful to be able to talk shop and share information and ideas with other people who share your obsession with art.

Getting Published

I just got word that two of my paintings are going to be published in the Richeson 75 Figure Portrait Competition hard cover book in the “Other Meritorious Entries” section.

Finished Oil Sketch of Vladimir

Oil Sketch

After working from life for a few hours, I got this far. Now, of course I can see all kinds of things wrong with it! The whole thing needs to be repainted.

Painting can be a bit like writing. Sometimes you just have to get a draft down, not worrying too much about perfection. Later you begin to edit.