Portrait of AJ

Preparatory Sketch

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

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.

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.

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.  

The eyes were placed about 1/4" too high in the previous incarnation, so I had to paint out the upper half of his head and start over.    

Even John Singer Sargent, arguably the greatest portrait painter ever, scraped out heads over and over until he achieved what he had in mind, which makes me feel better about having to do so!

In painting portraits you start with a broom and end with a needle - from the general to the specific, and you can't fall in love with any detail until the whole is perfectly proportioned.

I am liking the Mona Lisa pose and tentative smile, although more work still needs to be done before I am happy with this one!

It is possible to get young children to pose.  What you don't see in the photograph is the television behind me playing "My Fair Lady".  Depending on the taste of the child, it could be "Barney" or "Shrek" or something else, as long as it doesn't drive you, the painter, crazy. 

I started this painting many months ago.  It was based on a photo session back in March, so AJ's looks have changed somewhat (his face has lengthened and slimmed quite a bit) and I see lots of changes I need to make in the painting.  Painting really is just a series of corrections.  You try to just get something down, rather than freeze up in fear of getting it wrong, and then change what you don't like until you hopefully have what you set out to accomplish.  

AJ took breaks and I did not require him to hold completely still, since I was looking at him mainly for information about color and value.  

William

BRUCE

16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

I particularly enjoyed painting this handsome gentleman, as it was the first time I had an opportunity to paint someone with a beard. Some skill is necessary to avoid having the hair look cut out and pasted on and restraint was necessary when painting the white hair in shadow.

ERIN

9 x 12 inches, oil on panel

Love this kind of rim lighting - very dramatic!

Geneen - Oil Sketch from Life

This past weekend, I had the privilege of studying with the wonderful painter, Mr. Everett Raymond Kinstler at The Art Students League in New York City. Mr. Kinstler is one of the foremost portrait painters in the United States and has painted numerous celebrities, politicians and presidents. He is also a really nice guy and gives constructive criticism to help other painters improve their work.