oil painting Archives - Page 2 of 2

24 January 2016

Portrait painting lessons (3) about brushes

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?

It must accurately lead paint on the canvas where the artist wants it.
It must be able to bring sufficient paint onto the canvas.
It should be shapeable, a paint brush must be able to cut like a knife.
It must not scrape off paint.

Continue reading “Portrait painting lessons (3) about brushes”

26 December 201524 August 2018

About photography

Ten common mistakes in portrait painting.

This is the first of a series of 10 blog-posts, in which I will discuss ten of the most common pitfalls in portrait painting. I will publish every fortnight on each topic. Continue reading “About photography”

17 October 2015

Fresh air in a portrait

By means of this image I want to explain something that I do often.

In this portrait the light source comes from the top left. Consequently the shadow on the face is on the right side, on the chin. Sometimes it works well to have a high contrast in the values between the cast shadow and the background. That means I make this part of the background a lot lighter than the rest of the area.

When teaching I explain it this way: It’s possible to give a portrait some fresh air.

8 May 2015

Progress of the self-portrait

Three weeks ago I showed you the progress of the self-portrait. I said that in the end I was not entirely convinced by the result. Many people left a comment and a few had suggestions for adjustments. I also was asked to show the final result. Here is the outcome as it will be shipped to London next week. I actually have not done much but for me it changed substantially. The rub was in the background. My aim is always to match the subject and background in order to let them take part in one and the same atmosphere, in a believable way. In the first version there was too much blue and that was the reason there was no “palpable air” provided. What did I do in the background? With a broad brush I applied a layer of Raw sienna, extremely diluted with W & N Oil Liquin. In order to distribute it evenly I rubbed it with a cloth. Now temperature has changed and it looks better.

I also “calmed down” some brushstrokes on the left of my face, and I added a few accents in the lights and the darks.

26 April 2015

Pick up your brushes

If you only stay in the abstract it never happens.

Recently, when I was in London, I bought the small book “How to be an artist” by Michael Atavar. A book that develops your creativity and helps you, stage by stage, grow your own creative potential. It’s witty, written with optimistic statements such as: Failure is the best thing that can happen to you. I know that you learn more from your losses than from your victories. I always tell that to my students.

One of the first phrases is a very important one: The only way to start is to start. I hear people say, “Actually, I would also like to paint.” Avatar: If you only stay in the abstract it never happens. It’s that simple. Pick up your brushes and go to work! The fear of beginning is bigger than the actuality of doing.

18 April 2015

Self-portrait, the magic is gone?

Do not think I know it all. Like others, I have doubts sometimes. This week I’m working on a self-portrait for an exhibition in the gallery in London. I showed two images of the progress on Facebook and have never had so many likes.

A painting that is half finished is something magical. It has the excitement of the promise and the attractive dynamics of abstraction. Once finished, sometimes it does not quite accord to my high expectations. From experience I know this phenomenon, however, it takes me by surprise. So as now with this painting, it is completed but not finished. How do I proceed? The big question for this week. See also the finished version here.

8 March 2015

Props in a portrait

As you already know, I work almost exclusively on commission. It sometimes happens that a client wants to see a detail added to the portrait. An object that the person is very attached to or something that refers to his or her profession. I am always careful about this and wary of it as I do not think it necessary. If I cannot dissuade the sitter, I make the object or detail as unobtrusive as possible. The girl in this portrait plays in a circus as a clown, in her spare time. I did not want to depict her completely dressed up. She only holds a red clown´s nose in her hand. It’s a reference to her hobby, but she herself is the protagonist.

20 July 2014

Reckless and irreversible

Recently I came across an image of a painting from the series “Portraits of Valencia “. It is called Man on the Bridge. I made some paintings with this theme probably more than ten years ago. I dedicated more time then to paint subjects other than portraits. Maybe I should resume this and make some uncommissioned work again. The painting was not bad, I guess. I say was, because it no longer exists in this form. One day I wondered if another cut would be better. With strips of paper I covered the picture to get an impression of a new crop. Recklessly I took the rash decision of putting the knife in. I trimmed the canvas! The truncated version hangs now at a friends place. I guess they do not know about the original version. But I regret the error. Why didn´t I see, I was about to commit a big mistake and ruin a good picture? So I warn you all, don´t be too quick with decisions that are irreversible.