Part 1

Prom Portrait of My Daughter

Part 3
By Trisha Bond

Modified the eyes

The definition of the eyes, to create more pop,was next on my list.

I began with reshaping the eyes to capture the hooded characteristic that I had missed in the initial setup.  As well the lower lid needed to be brought upward.  The inner rim and inside corner of the eye were established.

I began adding more detail in the gradients of the eye colour, pupils were properly sized and the light reflecting gleam was added.  The darker limbal ring of the iris along with lighter shades of blue-grey and brownish gold flecks were added to the eye.

The pinks, purples and blue-greys of her eye makeup were applied to better represent the photograph along with the eye crease being established.

Eyelashes were added and the brows were darkened creating a more dramatic and 3 dimensional look

Part 2
Features are beginning to come
together.  However, the mouth and
nose still need modifications.  The
jawline also requires some work.

Mouth

In the beginning phase I had positioned her mouth too far to the left side of the canvass creating a lopsided look.  After studying the photograph and taking some measurements I discovered the mouth needed to move to the right side of the canvas with the corner of her mouth aligned with the edge of her pupil.

Nose

The nose has been giving me some definite challenges in this portrait. This particular photograph demonstrates more of a 3/4 head position than my previous, creating a different angle to replicate.

Skin Tones

I. remixed the skin tones  to a pinkish base and attempted to even out the skin. In the next phase I will begin applying thin layers of paint to create softness in the blending of the highlights, shadows and midtones.

I will attempt to capture the highlights along the right edge of her face and nose and the sheen above her left eye, on her left check and along the edge of her neck.

Hair

I began adding the dark strawberry blonde tone to the hair to begin defining the chunks of directional flow of the curls.

Jawline

Part 3The mouth has been moved.
The curvature still needs some
adjustments.

The chin and jawline still require some subtle changes to better reflect the angles of her right side.

Background

More work is required on the background to obtain the blurred depth of field captured in the photograph.  As well, colours need to be more accurately depicted in the greenery.

Since my last class with my instructor is tonight, I felt the background was of less importance than the actual portrait.  Therefore, I focused the majority of my time on the face as I knew this was the most challenging part and wanted to be able to take advantage of my instructor's sharp eye and assistance this evening.

Overall

I've been feeling more confident in my ability to see the details of the photograph, find the discrepancies and correct the issues.  The painting is still a long way from completion and there are definite issues to be addressed.  However, I feel I'm slowly moving in the right direction and more likeness is emerging.

Time Elapsed This Session: 3 hours
Total Elapsed Time: 6.5 hours

Portrait of Daughter Part 2

Prom Portrait of My Daughter

by Trisha Bond

Part Two - Underpainting

The Beginning Stage:

Using the same process as previously in the Amanda Seyfriend portrait, I blocked in the image with a thin, diluted layer of acrylic paint to capture mid tones, highlights and shadows.

Maintaining the out of focus appearance of the background is taking some work to achieve the right look and feel.  However, its beginning to come together.

The hair color needs adjusting to a more strawberry blonde tone.  As well the eye colour needs to be more accurately defined as a steel blue-grey.  Her right side of her mouth is still not quite right.  So will tackle that in the next session.  As well, her left jawline may need a slight increase in angle.

Time Elapsed: 2.5 hours

Overall:

I feel I'm on the right track and progressing with a fairly accurate  likeness of my daughter. Only one class left with my instructor and then I'm on my own for the duration of this portrait - a bit scary but a challenge I'm ready for!

Challenges:

The goal of this painting is three fold.  

1. First, to paint someone I know personally 
2. Second, to paint an open mouthed expression exposing teeth.  
3. Third, to maintain a blurred depth of field for the background of the portrait to create a non-dominating contrast with the sharpness of the subject.

Prom Portrait of My Daughter

By Trisha Bond

Part One

This week I have begun a painting that is near and dear to my heart - a closeup of my beautiful daughter on the night of her prom.  One of my challenges for this painting was to try to paint someone who I know personally in order to pick up on subtleties of features and placement and to see how close I can get to the original. 

I managed to successfully render an image 2x the size of the photograph with careful measurements and reference points onto a 12x16 canvass (slightly larger than my last portrait of Amanda Seyfried).  

Original rendering, too close to the
left edge of the canvass.

However, after initially penciling the image onto canvas, my instructor pointed out that she was seated too close to the left edge.   So, I began transitioning the drawing about 2" to the right achieving a much more balanced feel.  

I also noticed the angle of her right cheek needed reshaping along with the position of her chin.  As well, her mouth was positioned too far to the  left side of the canvass.

Time Elapsed: 1 hour

Medium:

Again, I will be using acrylic paints; ultramarine blue, cadmium red medium, cadmium yellow light, magenta, and titanium white.

Although, I have a wide variety of paintbrushes, I am finding that I am mainly using a small selection;  two flats, one round and a small liner for finer details.

Handy Tool:

I'm a big fan of stay-wet palettes.  It allows me to retain the colours I've carefully mixed without drying out between sessions at my easle.  I find colour mixing is an art in and of itself and can be difficult to reproduce at this stage in my painting journey.  Therefore, this type of palette reduces my amount of frustration caused by trying to match a new batch of colour to those already dried on the canvass (which is now darker than it is when wet).  You can find these palettes at most art stores.  They're easy to use and I'm sure its save us me valuable dollars in paint.

Next Post coming soon... Part 2: Blocking it all in.

Portrait in Acrylic
Amanda Seyfried

by Trisha Bond

Before now, the idea of painting a portrait was intimidating and I shied away from the idea of attempting such a complicated task.  In the past I had made a few attempts, two of which were somewhat successful.

Under the instruction of  Cristian Aluas of Masterpiece Art School I dove in headfirst and tackled this project with enthusiasm.  With the guidance of an experienced artist, I learned a great deal about the details of the face and seeing the subtle effects of light and shadow.

After six weeks I developed a piece that I am extremely proud of and no longer fear painting portraits.

Week One

Working from a photograph, I enlarged the image two times onto canvas using a light touch with pencil.

I began the blocking in process of the face and basic features using diluted acrylic paints.

The main colours were blocked in with thin layers to capture  the highlights, mid tones and shadows.

Week Two

In week two additional layers of paint were applied to begin bringing depth the to the face.

The face shape was adjusted.

Details of the eyes including the inner rims, makeup shadows and eyebrows were defined.

The lips were adjusted and shadows incorporated.

Clothing details were added on the shoulder.

Shadows and highlights were added to the neck and chest.

Week Three

Adjustments to the face shape were made to soften the jowl, correctly place the jaw in relation to the ear and neck and the chin was fine tuned.

The nose length and angle were corrected.

The lips were more accurately adjusted for a more natural shape.
.
Eyelashes were added, eyebrows were more heavily defined.

Eye colours, highlights, shadows and colour of the white of the eye were adjusted/added.

The shoulder in the foreground was widened and the angle of the upper back was adjusted.

The reddish blonde hair colour was added and the hair line adjusted.  

The angle of the neck was adjusted.

Shadows and highlights of the neck and collar bone were improved.  Skin tone, blush on cheeks were also improved for tone and contrast.

Week 4

The background colour was mixed to a blue grey and cut in to adjust head shape along the hair line.

The chin was trimmed and the jaw line angle was improved.

The lips were developed to include highlights and deep shadow.

The skin tone was blended along the lip line for a more natural and soft look.

Hair colours were adjusted to reflect the lighter blonde in the photo.

Next, deeper shadow on the right side of the portrait was laid in and the actress's left ear was defined.
 The details of the left ear were improved.

Week 5

This was the most difficult week...I found the hair to be extremely challenging especially the area that was smooth and pulled back into the ponytail. Trying to capture the many shades of colour was almost overwhelming.

The highlights of the actress's right side of her face  and neck were lightened to create a more dramatic contrast as captured in the photo.

The earring was added.

Strands of hair colour were added to reflect the lighter colours.

Week 6

Finishing touches were added to the hair that extendeded beyond the cap of the head, sparkle and shadow were added to the earring, lashes were enhanced as were the brows, sparkle and shadow were added to the eyes.   More definition was created along the left side of the face between the ear and eye in shadow.

Clothing colour was adjusted and shadows and highlights were added to the fabric.

Merwoman in OIls - Part 4

She is now complete. After many hours and many adjustments I have finally completed the mystical merwoman inspired by my daughter's novel.

This week I modified the reflection in the water keeping it somewhat a duplicate of the face but much more blurred in order to keep the focus on the violet eyes.

I also spent more time on the reflections within the pupils, adding subtle yellows and blues to provide more interest and to create a more defined outline of the girl on the shore and the dead trees behind her.

CHALLENGING: the water reflection. I wasn't sure how much detail to add in the water. I definitely didn't want to detract from the main face so I tried to achieve a blurred impression of the main subject. I added the paint a bit more generously then used a wide dry brush to gently sweep horizontally across the painting in both directions, cleaning the excess paint from the brush with a dry cloth in between sweeps.

REWARDING: The eye reflections really came to life with the fine tuning including subtle colours that enhanced the images within the eyes. I used a finer brush with lose strokes to create a feel of fogginess.

NEXT PROJECT: While painting the live model (Man Relaxing) I discovered an interest in painitng the human form. During this past year in art classes at Art Mad, I have realized there is no better way to learn something new than to tackle a challenging painting head on, to steup out of your comfort zone and explore something new. Therefore, this next painting will take it a step further. I have found a beautiful nude photo of a man and woman embracing tenderly. I will begin transferring the image onto a 48" x 24" canvass this week and hope to lay in the blocking by the end of week.

Merwoman in Oils - Part 3

What began as an 'easy' project very quickly turned into huge challenges; first the symmetry of the eyes, then the reflections within the pupils, then the reflection within the water. Oh and lets not forget the correct placement of the hair.

In order to make the eyes pop I applied a golden yellow to the lid which complemented the purple quite nicely. The deep green of the hair seemed to enhance the translucency of the skin and frame the eyes with a bit more drama. The Prussian Blue and Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue with a touch of Lamp Black created a rich deep green perfect for the hair.

Although challenging, I've thoroughly enjoyed working on this piece - it has been rewarding to tackle a subject I would never have considered even a year ago. Not to mention, this is my first completely original piece. Yes I did use several photo references in order to gain realistic perspective, but the image was straight from my imagination.

Now that the main image is complete, I will work on refining the reflection within the water...as you can see the reflections of the eyes are not quite right, and the hair needs to be softly blurred/distorted.

My daughter is immensely pleased with the outcome and I am thrilled to bring one of her character's to life. A special project through and through.

REWARDING: The hair is much more pleasing than I had anticipated, and I was able to avoid the need to paint in ears...YES!
CHALLENGING: eye reflections, water reflections

Merwoman in Oils - Part 2

With everything now fully blocked in I began working on deepening the intensity of the eyes and adding layers of colour in hopes of achieving a more translucent appearance in the skin.

My first attempt at the water resulted in an unattractive greenish blue with brown that was completely unappealing. In my second attempt I pulled out a new tube of Prussian Blue - a vibrant, deep blue that worked quite well.

Now that the eyes are generally the same in size and shape, I need to tweak the pupil of the left eye and add in the shadow reflections to bring them to life.

Cristian also pointed out the need for the water to follow the natural contour of the face (around the cheeks and nose). So I will work on creating this important aspect effectively.

With only one class left I'm hoping to spend several hours on the painting this week in order to complete it next class.

REWARDING: The depth in the skin tones, the blue of the water
CHALLENING: achieving symmetry in the pupils.

Merwoman in Oils - Part 1

The focus of our next painting is an original work inspired by a piece of literature. The diversity of the class' selections ranged from spiritual interpretation to fantasy. My source of inspiration is near and dear to my heart. My daughter is in the process of writing her first fantasy novel and I felt pulled to create a scene from the pages of her story.

The subject I have chosen is a violet-eyed Merwoman with intense, mesmerizing eyes that reflectively mirror the world around her. She is slowly emerging from the lake water while observing the main character on the shoreline.

Challenging: Since the eyes are the main focal point of this painting it will be crucial to create exact symmetry in order to draw the viewer into the reflections on her iris and pupil that will portray the world around her.

Rewarding: I am very pleased with the result thus far. I have tweaked the shape of the eyes from my original drawing and will need to carefully construct the same shape. But, overall, I am pleased with the progress.

HINT: Our instructor, Cristian Aluas, suggested first drawing the eye on tracing paper in the exact shape and size. Then the image was transferred to the canvass on the right, flipped over and duplicated on the left to ensure symmetry. Also, working from reference photos definitely helps to provide the sense of realism that I could not have drawn out from memory.

Male Model in Oils - Part 4

I can't believe how much this painting has evolved from the beginning. I'm very pleased with the results and excitedly look forward to the next model. Hint Hint Cristian!

Last night was the last class dedicated to this particular painting, so I've brought it home to complete.

I managed to correct the sofa angles, add height to the front of the sofa and add details to the body.

There are only a few minor adjustments left to make and then it will be complete - left hand, the face, socks and curtains touchups.

Challenges: the details of the face and remixing the correct facial colours, the shape of the left hand.
Rewarding: the richness of the colours (love that Cadmium Red Deep Hue), the shirt and the sofa stripes. I've also noticed that my brush strokes are much looser and free.

Next Week: We begin working on an original piece inspired from a piece of literature.