Academy of Realist Art Boston Portrait Painting Class

Hey everyone I wanted to announce that I will be Teaching again at The Academy of Realist Art Boston with the addition of a new class. Along with teaching the Portrait Drawing Class I will be teaching a Portrait Painting Class.

Classes Start The 14th of January:
Portrait Drawing from 10-1pm
Portrait Painting from 2-5pm
Click here to contact the Academy of Realist Art for information and enrollment.

In preparation of this course I decide to make a panel with the stages of a Portrait Painting. Granted there are as many ways to paint a portrait as there are artist painting them. So the goal of this demo was to paint a portrait in a systematic way of learning that could appeal to artist at all levels.

With any well done painting DRAWING is the most important aspect the will make sense of all of the Hue, Value, Chroma questions that one will come across as the painting progresses. In this class students will first be asked to make a linear construct or "cartoon" on paper before transferring it to canvas. Like they say,"well drawn is well painted."

Block-In

First off I like to start with a block-in of the head. In a general way I tick off the largest height and width and measure their relationships to each other. At this stage every line is an approximation that I will be willing to move or change at any time. I feel that one must start somewhere and if there is nothing on the paper there is nothing to correct. 

I personally spend a lot of time on this stage of the drawing. I constantly refine the tilts and examine proportions to create a convincing silhouette. As simple as it my look it is the bedrock of what I will be building my portrait.

Blocking in the Features 

After spending a considerable amount of time on the block-in I have enough information in place to work on the features of the face. Keeping in mind that the refinements of the initial block-in are not fully completed I can still proceed knowing that my majors tilts have all been addressed. Starting with finding the angle and orientation of the center line I can then start measuring the heights of the other features. I like to start with making a mark where the Eyebrow Ridge is considering it is made bone and not likely to move. My next Measurement is from the Brow Ridge to the bottom of the Nose. In addition I'm constantly double checking how the features relate to the exterior block-in making sure all the puzzle pieces fit together in harmony.

Once all of the features are discovered vertically I can then run a plumb line in the orientation of the center line to find the width of all of the features.

Articulated Block-In

Here above you can see that I have taken the block-in and articulated the construct to bring out the character of the sitter. I used the same approach in blocking in the shadows as I did with blocking in the head. In a general way I sketch in the shapes of the shadows later to be refined like the exterior construct. When establishing the terminator line or "bedbug line"of the shadow I try to conceive in my mind what planes shifts or underlying forms are producing certain light affects. I image how the light wraps around the forms and try to replicate that impression on my page.

Finished Cartoon

After articulating the shadows I toned them in to compare the shapes to the whole. Once satifiy with the drawing it is ready to transfer.

The Transferred Cartoon

A couple days prior I toned some linen with raw umber and mineral spirits. I wiped it down until I could lighten it to about a value 6. Once the tone was dry I then transferred my cartoon to it.

Raw Umber Wash Heightened with White

Compressing my values I washed in a semi-transparent tone for all of the shadows. In relation to the shadow tone the background was slightly darker so I mixed a value appropriate to it.  With Lead White I scrubbed in the light areas keeping in mind their relationship to the forms and planes. Any value residing in the half-tones I left the pre-tone of the linen. I then leave this wash drawing to dry before I apply the color

Controlled Palette  

So I mixed several strings of color I believed I might find in this portrait. The strings to the left consist of Van Dyck brown and White for my neutrals. Then I have a grey/green consisting of Van Dyck Brown and Golden Ocher. To the right of that I have a grey/red made from V.D.B. and Light Red. On the opposite side is a mixture of Golden Ocher, Light Red and V.D.B. Next is only G.O and L.R. and last is a mixture of only Light Red and White. From this seemingly dull palette of mixtures I'm able to get a surprisingly beautiful natural variety of colors. 

Planar / Ébauche 

I approach my Ébauche Thinking about the Planes of the Head. I start with the shadow and then move to the half-tones. When I imagine shape of the planes I mix a hue with the relative value to the plane adjacent to it. At this point I'm not concerned with blending or modeling the form. If the values are correct then sense of the form turning will happen as a result. 

Finished Planar / Ébauche 

At this time I'd like to talk a little bit about paint quality. The Ébauche is meant to be thin sketchy wash.   In this Stage I dilute the paint with a mixture of 1 part linseed oil and 3 parts turpentine. I typically dip my brush in my medium cup and then wipe the excess oil off the brush. The remnant oil on the brush is usually enough to thin the paint.

My reasoning for painting this thin washy layer is to establish in a quick way all the colors and there relationships to each other. One might be saying to themselves this seems quite laborious to paint with so many stages. But for an inexperienced painter all of these stages can help the artist develop a stronger structure in which to finish there painting.

Form painting

The Form Painting Stage is when I repaint the whole head piece by piece to a finish. For some reason I almost always start with the neck. I slowly and carefully crawl over the form modeling the area section at a time. It helps a lot to have the Ébauche underneath, it allows me to think more about the modeling and less about the color. I try not to rush and move on to another part until the original section is finished. Whenever I catch myself moving ahead I take a quick break to regroup then I continue with patience. Often times when I rush I find I end up creating more work for myself later on. A lot of mindless feathering of paint doesn't amount to much but mud. So out of countless mistakes I've to be a little bit more deliberate with my paint application.

Tree Stump of Platte Clove

I found that I really enjoyed making paintings of forest interiors during my stay in the Catskill Mountains. I was amazed at some of these trees that grew on the ledges and cliffs near the waterfalls. Their Roots seemed to grow wrap around anything it could to sink itself into position.

Burnt Umber Wash Drawing

With this painting I started as I often do with a Burnt Umber Wash Drawing. I threw on the basic gesture of the stump and worked on articulating the smaller roots later on. 

Shaping the Wash Drawing

I drew in the stump using two brushes and Mineral Spirits. One brush contained the oil paint to put on the panel and an other clean brush with mineral spirits to carve away wet paint and shape the drawing. 

Premixing Color

I did a great deal more premixing of my pigments in this painting. I made many different varieties of brown for the roots of the tree. I made mixtures of green/brown for the sun facing parts of the tree. Yellow/brown made up much of the lighter values of the stump. I noticed that as the roots entered the ground they abruptly became a warmer red/brown. As the shape of the roots rolled and turned into the shadows the browns became very much neutral. So to save my self time and extra labor premixing became very usefully.

Applying Color

I very thoughtfully and carefully applied my color choices paying much attention to the forms I encountered. In this painting I didn't want to have to come back and repaint any of the areas a second time. I had only one afternoon to work on this painting so what ever information I could gather had to be accurate. 

As I'm painting I am constantly checking and reworking my drawing. My goal was to capture as much of a likeness without driving myself completely crazy. The one thing I noticed about working on a painting piece by piece is that I had to constantly reel myself back from rushing to the next section. Patience is definitely the key to better painting. 

Painting the Ground floor

After Painting in much of the roots the stump seemed to be floating in air. I felt at this time it was a great opportunity to put in the ground floor. I started by applying a glaze of Burnt Umber and painting into it with various mixtures of Burnt umber, Burnt Siena, Yellow Ocher and White. After sections of the ground floor where completed I could then paint green foliage springing out of the earth.

The Final Study

I had added a neutral grey to bring out the forms of the stump. If I had another day with this painting I would had loved to paint in the entire scene. As a study for some foreground element in a larger studio painting this will suffice.

Elka Park Rock and Leaf study

Hey everyone I have more work to post from my time with the Hudson River Fellowship. This time I decided to make a rock and leaf study. I pretty much set up right in the middle of a creek for this painting. My easel was in the water and I stood perched on a rock hoping not to be too careless and take a surprise swim. I choose this spot because all day it was threatening to rain and close by there was a bridge to take shelter under. This painting was originally supposed to be a grisaille study in Burnt Umber. Later as I got into the work It seemed to make more sense to paint it in full color.

The Scene of the Rock

Burnt Umber Wash-Drawing

I started the painting with a rapid wash-in drawing in Burnt Umber. This allowed me to get the general composition and placement of the subject. To shape the forms I took a clean brush dipped in mineral spirits to pull away the paint from the panel.

Pulling the Shapes of the Leaves

Reinforcing the Drawing

After pulling out the general shapes of the leaves with Mineral Spirits I continued to rework the drawing.  More carefully I went back into the painting with the Burnt Umber trying to realize the correct shapes and forms of the leaves.

The Finished Under Painting

I worked the Under Painting to the point where I felt I had enough information to guide me in the over painting. If this was to be a  gallery painting and not a study I would have spent more time in the early stage perfecting the drawing and better interpreting the tonal relationships.  

Premixing 

I spent a little bit of time premixing some of the major notes of color I saw in the rock and leaves. I don't always do this but for this I really want to control may values from getting out of hand.

First Application of Color

I really didn't have a solid plan of action on starting the color. I figured I'd start in the darker values of the rock and then see where that would take me.

Further developing the Painting

As I worked I found my direction slowly developed the painting. By starting on one section and then working on the adjacent pieces the painting started to take shape. 

More Developments  

At this stage of the painting I am still not too interested in the small details. I really wanted to focus on the major tonal and color shifts that where taking place. Once I have constructed the body of the forms I can then lay the fuzzy moss and varying edges.

Toning Shadow Areas

Transparently I applied more Burnt Umber to the areas that appeared to be cast in Shadow. I would later paint directly into this glaze to achieve a smoother transition from Light to Shadow.

Finished Lay-in of the Rock

Painting More Moss 

Along with painting the moss I started to introduce darker values into the shadows. I again painted the shadows transparently but this time using a mixture of Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue Deep.

The Final Study

The Oil Painter's Palette Updated

Hey all it has been year since I last wrote about my palette and colors. I am constantly trying new things to improve my working habits. When choosing my colors I look for pigments that are archival, fast drying and require little oil. I also like to use natural earth pigments and limit the uses of synthetic pigments as much as possible. For example a pigment like Lapis Lazuli would be replaced by Ultramarine Blue due to its high cost and varying qualities that are still in existence. 

My Wooden Hand Palette

From my post last year I spoke more about the tubed paints bought from the art store and nothing about grinding ones own paints. My last stay in Florence I really focused on changing my working habits and started getting back to basics. Mulling my own pigments became one of those tasks of enlightenment in the field of oil painting. Having an art store like Zecchi close by provided me a great opportunity to purchase and experiment with a wide variety of pigments. I practiced using the cheaper nontoxic pigments to get the hang of it and find the consistency I like to work with. It made no sense to me to mull up some costly Vermilion off the ripe and mistakenly over saturate it with too much oil.

Venetian Red with Muller 

I have found many pros to mulling my own pigments. It is true that the colors are much richer and brighter than store bought paints. I believe that the fillers and extenders of store bought brands make for short and chalky paint. When choosing your pigments you have a much large selection to pick form. Raw Umber depending on the which region of the world can be bright and transparent or grey-green and quit opaque. Some vermilions can be warm and look like cadmium orange while others may appear cool and similar to cadmium red deep. 

A Domestic Yellow Ocher

The Cons I have found is that you must put in the elbow grease to do it yourself. The other more serious Cons are that some pigments are very poisonous and is not recommended to be handled without proper protection. Even the nonpoisonous pigments when airborne can be unhealthy to breathe.

Yellow Ocher During the Mulling Process

So the colors on my present palette are: 

•  Lead White #2 ( From Natural Pigments mulled in Walnut Oil with no fillers. ) 
• Cadmium Yellow ( I switch between Cad. Yellow light and Cad. Yellow medium depending on the paintings I'm working on. ) 
• Yellow Ocher ( This is the only earth yellow remaining on my palette to this date. I discontinued using Raw Sienna because it requires over 200% oil which can then lead to rapid darkening. ) 
• Red Ocher ( Pigments such as Sinopia, Venetian Red and English Red are often make their rotation on my palette. I find them very useful in painting the flesh. )
• Burnt Sienna ( Like Raw Sienna this pigment requires a lot of oil, about 180%. But I find it a useful color because it's more orange and less opaque then the earth reds. )
• Cadmium Orange
• Vermilion Red or Cadmium Red medium ( Lately I have been using more Cadmium Red over  Vermilion. Current research I've found states that depending on Vermilions preparation and exposure to sunlight can lead to irreversible blackening and splotchiness. Although I have not experienced this in any of my painting I figure it is better to be safer then sorry. If anyone reading this knows any better about this pigment please contact me about your findings. )
• Alizarin Crimson or Matter Lake
• Raw Umber ( I tend to use a medium tone Cyprus Umber from the Harz Mountains. I love the Warmth and transparency of this pigment. )
• Burnt Umber ( I had stopped using this pigment for a while because I hated the way it would sink in so drastically. Recently I found myself using it more and more. I lean towards Burnt Umbers that are warmer similar to Red Umber. )
• Manganese Blue ( I started using this instead of Cerulean Blue. When painting skies in landscapes I find that it is much more of a vivid and transparent color. Cerulean Blue had always been too pasty for my liking. )
• Cobalt Blue ( A Fast drying blue. )
• Ultramarine Blue Deep ( I use this blue the most. I often mix it with Burnt Umber to create my darks and substitute using black.
• Bone Black ( Lately I haven't be using it that often but still haven't kicked it off my palette. I use black as the last resort dark color in the final layers of the painting. )

My Glass Studio Palette

My Plein Air Painting Box

Lastly I wanted to share with you all a couple examples of what I do when testing out new pigments. I like to make color charts and mix colors that I wouldn't normally mix together to find interesting color to put in future paintings. I found making color charts very helpful in figuring out interesting and beautiful flesh tones. At times they can be boring to do but in the process not only do you learn more about color but also the individual characteristics of each of the pigments. You may find one is more transparent or opaque then the other. In other situations you will also find the tinting strength and drying times varies from pigment to pigment. So Below is a couple examples of my color charts.

Flesh Chart using mostly Earth Pigments

Flesh Chart Using Cadmiums and Earth Pigments

A Yellow Chart mixed with other colors on my Palette

 

I hoped you enjoyed this post and knowing me I'll most likely be updating this next year with new habits and discoveries. Thank You stopping by.

The Oil painter’s palette

my wooden palette with my choice of oil colors

The oil painters palette is one of those things that seem like magic for the student painter. Choosing the right colors, arranging them just the right way and then changing them all over again, again and again. At least this is my story. I can remember first starting out painting the concept of mixing colors together to produce other colors really didn’t enter my mind. I found myself at the art stores buying all these different hues planning to one day paint with them.
To my surprise later on in years I discovered that one doesn’t need every color the supplier can produce to make a wonderful painting. In fact one can get along pretty well with just a red, blue, yellow and the addition of white. With that in mind that is how i have set up my own palette. From left to right i have Lead White, Cad. Yellow medium, Yellow Ocher, Raw Siena, an earth red ( I have been jumping back and forth from Red Ocher and Burnt Siena), Cad. Orange, Vermilion or Cad Red Light, Alizarin Crimson, Raw Umber, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue and Ivory Black. Now this may seem like a lot of different colors but in my mind i still only have white, red, blue, yellow and a short cut color named orange (I have the Cad. Orange because i was not able to reach the same high croma mixing red and yellow together). All of these colors on my palette have something in common. They start out at a lighter high chroma value and then fall to a darker low chroma value. When I am trying to match a color I ask myself,”what kind of red, blue or yellow is that.” My next question would be, ” what is the general value of that color.” Lastly I would then check the chroma of my mixture. If i have matched the correct hue and value there should be very little fiddling around with chroma.

One could argue and say that this system is too simple and i may agree with them. But for me I like to think of the colors on my palette in there most direct form. For example when I’m painting flesh or objects in nature it is very rare that i’ll need to dip into my cadmium colors. In fact this is the way in which I prefer to start a painting. There are two reason I limit myself in the beginning and paint only with the earth colors. One is because I am not an alla prima painter, my work consists of several layers of paint to get the look I’m going for. So with the earth colors I am able to apply a faster drying paint layer without the use of a rapid drying medium that may weaken the paint layer. The second reason is that I feel by in the beginning working in a limited manner I’ll have more choices to work with when I come to finish the painting. Say if I need one object to stand out among the others, I can boost up the chroma merely by the addition of a little cadmium color. Generally I reserve the cadmium colors for the lighter value color mixtures. When my mixtures are primarily comprised of white I prefer using the cadmiums to combat there chalkiness.

Of coarse there are many exceptions to the rules when mixing color. I only offer just a brief description of what goes through my head while I’m making a painting. My hopes is that this can help simplify the subject just enough to make your painting easier. I also wish for others who are more experienced to comment on this section in a helpful giving spirit to advance the education of art to whom ever reads this blog. Thank You!