Painting Portrait Tips / Lots of information about how to paint a portrait
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!”
As you know by now, painting commissioned portraits is an essential part of my daily artistic activity and has been for more than twenty-five years. I like to talk about it over and over again and hope that you can benefit from this.
Let me repeat this week what I consider to be the most important properties for a portrait painter.
More than fifteen years ago, I sent this portrait as an entry for the Royal Institute of Oil Painters´ annual exhibition in London. I delivered the canvas myself at the Mall Galleries. Continue reading “Strange stories”
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”
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”
Portrait painting in oil: A quick approach in colour from a live model.
You know I’m far from being an opponent of working from photography. I have received my share of criticism for this stance. That is fine by me. I know whereof I speak, take it from me. Many of my colleagues use photography. And lots for 100% of their work. Only: they do not want to talk about it! I know this phenomenon from the inside out, and I remain to tell you the truth.
But without prejudice I encourage everyone to study from observation. One of the special features is the reflection of a quest. All the elements of a face are not always immediately in the right place on the canvas. And I like to see these little changes of detail in the work. It gives the final artwork that unique charm.
When I work from a live model, I should actually take many more pictures in between to show that process well. The accompanying picture shows two shots. One after a session of 20 minutes and the other after an hour. Pay special attention to the small changes around the mouth and the eyes.
Of course it is an added problem when a model cannot sit still for more than five minutes, at least I can´t. ( I am always happy to be the painter and not the sitter) Every model tends to drift or have difficulties to hold one position. That is why I always take some pictures with my cellphone before stopping the session. So afterwards I am able to correct some features when the model had gone.
Sometimes I see students paint with miserable brushes because of slackness or just stinginess. A Very Bad Habit!
In my studio I have a brushes’ grave yard.
– Why not throw them all away?
– I can´t do that. They have served me faithfully.
– But they are far from being worn!
– No, but they are not good enough anymore.
Actually I should not think of a cemetery, let me call it a brushes retirement home. Sometimes I take some brushes out of that stock and I try them again, but I have to conclude that they are turned down for some reason.
What standards must a good brush meet?
Continue reading “Portrait painting lessons (3) about brushes”
Canvas and preparations. The word canvas means a fabric used as a painting surface. Sometimes the canvas is made from cotton fibers and other times from linen fibers. Panel is nowadays almost always made of masonite or fiber board.
Whatever you use, the big secret is in the preparation.
Poorly prepared panel or canvas is lethal. Often this trashy quality is the reason, a novice in oil painting gives up after a few attempts. Flimsy linen absorbs immediately every brushstroke. Continue reading “Canvas and preparations”