Painting Portrait Tips / Lots of information about how to paint a portrait
In this short portrait portrait painting from life, underpainting, demonstration video I only use raw umber.
If you have the opportunity to paint from observation you should do so as much as possible.
To begin with, I give the entire canvas a very thin wash of raw umber with standard painting medium.
Then, using a flat synthetic brush I put down the first contours. I determine where the eyes, nose and mouth are.
Continue reading “Portrait painting from life, underpainting”
Portrait painting from photography has pros and cons. One of the major drawbacks is the inclination to copy all the details. Detailed or blurry?Apparently every wrinkle, eyelash and hair lock must be displayed faithfully. But a good portrait is not a sum of all observable details. I have said it last week: It’s not about whether it just seems real, the point is that it is true and authentic.
In his book Alla Prima ll Richard Schmid says:” In my view, detail for its own sake is a shallow goal, because I don´t think art is about how much stuff I can depict” Continue reading “Detailed or blurry”
You may have noticed I have no affinity with photorealism.
It is not about whether it just seems real, the point is that it is true and authentic.
Painting a portrait from life? Do you work a lot from photography? There is nothing wrong with that, I have said so often. It gives you the opportunity to calmly create a portrait with good likeness and time to mix the colours at ease. It is also often a fantastic picture that invites you to make a beautiful painting.
But there are also pitfalls, namely that you create a too detailed reproduction of the photo. That is a missed opportunity. A painting must be your interpretation and not a copied image. Continue reading “Painting a portrait from life”
Let me start with a quote of the famous Art teacher Robert Henri form his book The Art Spirit:
“Better paint the gesture of the hand than the hand”.
I love to paint hands and this fantastic phrase animates me once again to show the expression of the hand.
Painting hands in oil paint. Many people think that a painted portrait is just only about the face. Of course it is more than that. Hands can belong just as well to the whole image. Hereto the hands of a commission that I have on my easel now. When the portrait is delivered, and I have the permission of the client, I’ll show you the whole painting. Continue reading “Painting hands in oil paint”
Oil paint waste: What is the similarity between oil paint and a pencil? In both you use only 40%, the rest is thrown away.
When sharpening your pencil a part of the pencil always disappears. I estimate that more than half is left in the sharpener. What a pity! Continue reading “Portrait painting and waste”
In portrait painting you have to deal with a number of contrasts. One is the cool-warm contrast. And I know from experience that people often struggle with this topic. The light-dark contrast is no problem to many students.
A basic principle is the often applicable rule:
Portrait painting in oil: A quick approach in colour from a live model.
Every so often I get the question of what colours skin tone is composed. I can not possibly answer that question because every complexion has its own composition.
In the two in-depth video tutorials I show exactly which colour and in what quantity in the different parts of the face, I used to paint the portrait.
Don´t be afraid of the shadows.
In one way or another, in virtually all students I see a fear of making shadows in portrait painting. The restraint is so obvious and common that I wondered what might be the cause. I think it comes down to two.
Continue reading “Portrait painting lessons (6) Shadow”