Painting Portrait Tips / Lots of information about how to paint a portrait
Sometimes I wonder why I want to paint a good portrait. Where does that fervour come from? What about my portrait painting and inspiration. I’ve never been able to answer that question. And it should stay like that, I guess. That everlasting urge, that gruelling passion; I have learned to live with it. It was not always an easy road. More than once, I was jealous of people without any ambition. Continue reading “Portrait painting and inspiration.”
Last week I told you about the female nude commissions. And, I wrote that only during the photo session does it become clear how the model will be depicted. This post is again about Improvising and portrait painting. Continue reading “Improvising and portrait painting”
After twenty-five years of commissioned portraits there are many anecdotes I can tell. I have had some peculiar portrait commissions.
I have met a lot of people. Occasionally there was something special about a job, like the two times I got an enquiry for a female nude painting. In the first one, the client was the model´s husband; the client making the other request was the model herself. She wanted to give the portrait as a present to her husband on the day of the wedding. Continue reading “Peculiar portrait commissions.”
This week, a brief advice:
Deep shadows are hot! Never use black or blue in the darkest parts of the mouth and sometimes in the nostrils. Your shadows will die and refuse to match with the surrounding areas. Continue reading “Deep shadows are hot”
Last week I wrote about the importance of squinting and of stepping back. I also said that most students know this already, but few really do it. Yet it is essential that you keep distance from your canvas, especially in portrait painting. Continue reading “Portrait painting: keep distance.”
Not always portraits. Lately I have not been accepting every portrait commission. I want to have more time to try other things, which I never had the opportunity to do. It is a new chapter for me. Continue reading “Not always portraits”
Here I show you, step by step, how I painted this portrait, with a different approach as usual. I chose to start without a detailed drawing. Continue reading “Portrait painting, a different approach”
Carpentry for portrait painting. As I get the opportunity I love to do craftwork, preferably in wood. I always wanted to be a carpenter, I have written about this before. And I’ll confess something else to you. For a long time, carpentry gave me more pleasure than painting. Believe me. Continue reading “Carpentry for portrait painting”
When I worked this week on a quick sketch of this portrait, again it came to mind how often I see students paint almost without any paint on the canvas. Far too thin and almost transparent. Continue reading “Portrait painters: use more paint!”
If you have the intention to start working from life model try to find some friends to join you and agree a fixed day and hour in the week. It is good to have some obligation.