Thursday, October 29, 2009

Portrait Painting, Two Masters, Week 2

This is my second portrait painting class with Mariana Carreras. In this class we will be studying the works of two masters, Rembrandt and Frida Kahlo. I am working in oils.

This is week two of our study of Rembrandt. This week we made a glaze of a mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna, covered the whole painting, and scumbled in some titanium white. In particular, we tried to give emphasis to our areas of focus, leaving the other areas dark, similar to what Rembrandt might have done. In my case, the areas of focus are the model's face and the skull the model was holding.

Here is the result of week two's work:

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Portrait Painting, Two Masters, Week 1

This is my second portrait painting class with Mariana Carreras. In this class we will be studying the works of two masters, Rembrandt and Frida Kahlo. I am working in oils.

For week one, we started studying Rembrandt. In doing that, we tried to create a painting with contrast between light and dark, focusing details on what we want to show, and subduing the details of what is not the focus.

The painting I am posting here is not complete, by any means. This is the result of the first of three classes we will spend on it. In fact, this is simply the underpainting, or grisaille.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Portrait Painting 101, Week 6

My new class at The Drawing Studio is called Portrait Painting 101, with Mariana Carreras. I am working in oils.

This week, the last week of the class, we continued the portrait that we started last week. Like the first painting, I scumbled in some paint. This time, however, I scumbled in some flesh tone, using Titanium and Cadmium Red, to add some variation. I also went in with some Cerulean Blue in the shadows. Here is the result:

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Portrait Painting 101, Week 5

My new class at The Drawing Studio is called Portrait Painting 101, with Mariana Carreras. I am working in oils.

For week five, we started a new painting. This painting, we went back to the indirect method. This week we painted a model holding a wine glass, starting with the under-painting, using burnt umber over a burnt sienna glaze.

Here is my under-painting. Next week we will complete it.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Portrait Painting 101, Weeks 3 and 4

My new class at The Drawing Studio is called Portrait Painting 101, with Mariana Carreras. I am working in oils.

For weeks three and four, we worked on the same painting using the direct method. With the direct method, there is no transparency, glazes, or scumbling. We simply mixed up some opaque flesh color and went to town.

It went pretty well. In fact, my painting was the only one in class that resembled the model (which in my opinion had a lot to do with luck).

Here is the result: