Christina. This woman is amazing and was the most fun to paint. The glasses were a great challenge as they are made of two differently colored plastics that are swirled together and which have very subtle shadings. And, to top that off, the greenish-blue color is one of those colors that seem to balance on the head of a pin between two strong colors and is nearly impossible to mix. I spent more time on that color. I do work from photographs when painting portraits, generally, because most people are far too busy to sit for the time required. If they insist, I double the price due to the hassles of moving equipment and the extra time spent getting a likeness. Mainly, I insist on using my own photos which are carefully bracketed for exposure to ensure proper and accurate shadows and highlights. Like a portrait where the subject sits, I sketch the portrait onto the surface with raw umber. I use my brush handle to measure and compare distances and to examine angles. I build up planes...
Here is my studio--at least most of it. I use color balanced verilux lights, an old easel my father gave me when I was sixteen, a tool chest from Cessna Aircraft, a glass palette on top of the red tool chest, and a light box for still life setups. Here is the still life setup in action. (The painting sold in my most recent show). Below is a shot of the finished painting.
There is something about wet streets that fascinates me. This painting was part of a show last year in which I had several rainy day paintings. All of them sold, including this one. I guess that tells you what people like. The one thing that rainy day painting taught me is to be observant as a neutral observer. Rain slicked streets and objects are patchworks of color. Sure there is a logic to the reflections, but you can only paint it accurately if you can stop the part of your mind that says, "this is a car," and you then put in your symbol for a car. Think of what you see as a collection of marks on a canvas that is your eye. It is not a car, it is a slab of grey over a bit of very dark blue with a hint of red in a grey box. Just put down the right color in the right place, and you will go a long way towards a serviceable image. Sounds easy, right? Well, do as I've done and practice for 35 years and you can get pretty good at it. Or, you may be a natural. Let'...
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