Friday, June 29, 2012

Handiwork

I thought I would post some of my hand studies from a class I took several years ago with Jeff Watts. We didn't focus on anatomy so much as just jumping right in doing studies from photos and the old masters' before ending the semester by working from a live hand model. Hands can be difficult, but they don't have to be if you take the right approach and keep focused. I learned two basic approaches to painting hands: The classic/Rockwell style which used a more detailed line drawing to begin the painting, or the alla prima method favored by Sargent and Fechin, which was more of a tonal block-in approach where you paint colors and shapes and refine them as you go. I ended up preferring the second alla prima method. It was more enjoyable and I liked the results of those types of paintings better.

As I focus more on portrait painting, I need to remember the foundation lessons from my early training, like these studies below.



After Sargent and Bridgman

 
 

From photos





Quick paintings from a live model




Friday, June 22, 2012

Sakura

This is a little study I did from a photo of a friend's daughter. I hope he doesn't mind! 9 x 12" Fredrix oil primed linen panel.



Friday, June 15, 2012

Here are a few new paintings from my extreme lighting portrait class at the Watts Atelier.

2.5 hours  12 x 16" on gessoed panel under blue lighting









2.5 hours  12 x 16" on gessoed panel under red and green lighting









40 minute gesture painting on 8 x 10" gessoed panel under white and blue lighting





Another 40 minute gesture painting on 8 x 10" gessoed panel under white and red lighting