Using Liquid on the Surface

"Caroline"

Oil on Canvas, 6" sq., c. Catherine Vines

   

She's very beautiful, isn't she?

I found my red palette worked for this painting, but in the end I seemed to prefer blues for the shadows. And they worked beautifully with her hair tones.
Because this painting had sat for almost 10 days before I could return to it, I tried something I had only read about: I put a layer of Liquin over the surface and then resumed painting. It worked beautifully, though left me confused about the 'fat over lean' concept. I am so sorry I can't give credit for the idea.

Breathing Life into a Painting

"Portrait - In Progress IV"

Oil on Canvas, 6"sq., c. Catherine Vines

   

I can't get over how fascinating the process of painting a face can be. The marvel of trying to turn a flat, two-dimensional square into a living, breathing individual human being continually amazes me.  Especially when I start to see the first signs of life.

Today's goal is to concentrate on the eyes and eyebrows.

Today's posting veers toward the red side - now there's a mystery.

Monitor Colors

"Portrait - In Progress III"

 Oil on Canvas, 6" sq., c. Catherine Vines

   

On my screen (I have a Mac which is supposed to be brighter), this coloring is about spot on.  But I checked out my posting on my ITouch and the colors were different, even though also an Apple product.

How it appears on a PC...?

By spot on, I don't mean the colors are perfect for a portrait, but that they are true to the painted image.

More than the color though, I am concerned about losing the freshness by working over the painting so much. 

And this isn't even the portrait I mean to paint; this one was intended to be a test case for my flesh tones palette!

Strategies for Mixing Flesh Tones

"A Midvalue Mixture Based on Grumbacher Red Light"

Oil Paints on Glass Palette

   

I am experimenting with mixing flesh tones using Suzanne Brooker's strategy from her book, "Portrait Painting Atelier."

I decided to start with my usual red for flesh tones, Grumbacher Red Light.  

The center left shows the Red Light in its pure form, then lightened with a combination of Titanium White and Zinc White to create a medium value in the big pile in the center.  All subsequent mixtures are made from this center pile combined with other colors.

Directly to the right you can see Yellow Ochre Light in its pure form. Straight above the Ochre and to its left are the combinations of the Red Light pile and Ochre with varying amounts of white.

The bottom right corner combines the Red Light pile and Naples Yellow.

Bottom left combines the Red Light pile and Green Umber.

Top left is the Red Light pile plus Raw Umber. (Missing is the pure form of Raw Umber.)

I was disappointed that I didn't get a greater variety of midtones.  I decided the Naples Yellow combination was too orange, though the lightest mixture was lovely. And I would like to try the Green Umber using more green.

Next time I intend to try terra rosa in the center.

At Last! Hair!

"Portrait - In Progress"

Oil on canvas, 6"sq., c. Catherine Vines

   

Well, sorta. But I have plans.

This grainy photo - for reasons I don't understand although I'm guessing low light - is my first pass on this portrait. 

Don't even ask me about the mouth.

I did learn - for about the 1000th time - I like to paint bigger.

I have neglected painting for my new book, "Portrait Painting Atelier" by Suzanne Brooker. I am especially inspired by the section on "Creating a Color Recipe Book" where you make charts doing color recipe exercises. It fits perfectly in my color studies.