Jesse - PAOA Portrait Studio

Super pleased with my results from yesterday's Portrait Studio painting model Jesse St. James. My confidence level is very high and I finished this in about 2.5 hrs! Yay and it is a good likeness. I think I am finally moving towards a "Pamela-style" and I like it. This is a 12x14 painting on triple primed linen with an acrylic burnt sienna ground. Artisan Oils with Gamblin's Neomegilp medium.

Monochrome Study - Costumed Model

In a local open studio offered by PAOA, I practiced a monochrome study using the "sight-size" technique. Approx 3 hours of work and I feel it still needs quite a bit of tweaking. I did add a little color to the skin areas and some white on the highlights.I used burnt umber on a 14"x18" linen canvas. When I prepared my canvas with a wash of burnt umber the previous day, I used Artisan oils with the Artisan thinner. This was a mistake. When I attempted to remove paint to achieve the highlights, it did not come off easily or at all. I should have used water for the wash. It is a learning experience working with water-misible oils. (Below) a photo of the in-progress painting with model set to size.

Stage 2 - Portrait #4 - Lady Fraser "after" Raeburn

Stage 2 is the first round of glazes. I am using walnut oil as my glazing medium. I had never heard of it before until earlier this year while painting at one of our PAOA Portrait Studio Sessions. A fellow member artist, Linda Fox, gave me a little sample of it. I love it! Thanks Linda! Oh btw, Linda is giving a painting demo at our next Portrait Artists of Arizona meeting September 26th, 2009.

It is amazing how we notice things in a photo of our artwork we just can't see with our naked eye. Although this stage is looking pretty good, I can see many flaws I wish to correct. The hair is not completed, there are some mis-alignments, and edges and facial shadows to be softened. Of course the background is not completed. Still much to do, but I should have it finished in the next session. I think this is little too small for me to work in. My near vision isn't as good as it used to be. I need one of those craft magnifiers!! Not kidding! The photo I took of the original painting while at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is posted in this earlier post go here

I really am enjoying working on this painting. I would like to do some period portraits much like Liliedahl and Weistling do. I need to start developing a costume wardrobe for posing my subjects in more classical settings.