Past Lifedrawings

Have been thinking recently, I need to cut back on the weekend jaunts, and add back in some art time again. I do have 2 pieces I've been asked to do, this time for family and friends of family, rare for me as most of my commissions were stranger based always, as a portrait artist for over a decade. However, working full time in the last 2 years or so, as opposed to part time, decided for me that I will not accept commissions anymore. I wanted to keep my leisure time mostly for myself - my kids and myself and my partner.

Having a lot of life changes in the past 2 years, many quite challenging, by choice and some not within my control at all, has really made me cherish my weekend time and nights. My fiance and I began taking walks to the harbour in our new vicinity, which lead to exploring new areas to walk, eventually leading me to become more of an outdoor person than an introverted indoor reader and drawer that I grew up as as a kid and teen. As a born artist,  the camera began taking the place of painting and drawing, which in turn meant I carry my camera on 99.9% of our outings. It's definitely Not as satisfying as painting I can tell you that. However, reference photos were a tool I used having been a representational artist.

 

As a teen, as well as a student at what was the old OCA in Toronto, life drawing was a 1-3 day a week thing for me. I also kept it up over the last few years. As well, I do occasionally model for life drawing groups and some classes, but it has become more as a favour and for the personal enjoyment of the environment and the attending artists, most of whom are great people, then for the extra income. Since working full time down town, it has become not so convenient to go so it is quite rare now that I do. I grew up drawing from the figure, so this may lend itself to being a pretty good life model.

However, in the last couple of years, I've not really practiced my life drawing, mainly due to time and travel inconvenience, not to mention expense.

The best time I ever enjoyed as an artist involving life drawing occurred when I visited my very good artist friend in Ottawa about 5 years ago. We attended life drawing at people's houses, at the community centre where she regularly attended, and I even was allowed to join one of the portrait class sessions she attended at the time. It was so much fun! It was somewhat like what I slightly imagined it would be like being a free spirited artist hippie in the 60s lol! - something I don't quite think I'd have been then since I have that practical and logical side as well as artistic free spirit side lol! But I always recall that time spent with her and her husband, both awesome people, fondly and know it can never be totally be relived or come close to again. It was a once in a lifetime experience.

Some Old Life Drawings (from 2-6 years ago)

Acrylic Portrait Continued....

Generally, once a week, light conditions permitting, I put 5-6 hrs into my current portrait project. This is the progress stage I am at with a friend's boyfriend's portrait. I work in natural window light so it needs to be an overcast type day so I don't get annoying bright strips of light across my work area, but nice diffused light to paint in. Bright light makes me crazy to begin with so I find working under anything but diffused natural light, grating on my nerves.

I am spending time solving the values in the face first, with colour being a secondary concern once values in areas are right. I tend to do this in a back and forth way. This can result in too many layers being built before areas are solved, but 9 times out of 10 it works for me. If I reach a point where the only choice is to sand back some of the surface, it often means the portrait is doomed. Luckily, it rarely happens but it has once in a while. Depending on how much damage control needs to be done, determines whether I can continue painting on the surface, or if gawd forbid, I need to discard and begin anew. I have had to begin anew maybe 3 times in the past 20 years. It's not fun.

Here, I have still the areas above the lip, and the lip still to solve, a lot of the major areas on the forehead and back onto the crown, as well as the chin - all needing the majority of the work. The eye areas, neck, the cheeks and towards the ear need less work.

Alternating into the background and clothing, simultaneously with the skin tones, needs to happen as well, to keep values balanced and easier to determine the accuracy of. Most likely, i will begin into the top and folded arms soon, and as well continue to build the background. Going back and forth with background and edges of the figure, especially the ones farthest from the viewer's eye, helps keep that "figure cut out and pasted in a background" look from occurring. I frigging hate that look in portraits and figure paintings and I try hard to avoid it in my work.

Palette

titanium white

naples yellow

yellow ochre

raw sienna

burnt sienna

cadmium red light

naphthol red medium - Golden

ultramarine blue (red)

cobalt blue

chormium oxide green - Golden

I use Liquitex heavy body tube acrylics (other than the couple Goldens noted), and I use a fluid medium, not a lot of water but do have it out for use when needed. My palette is a white ceramic dinner plate. I use paper towel to dab my brush on. My brush generally is a synthetic round and a chisel. I do have a large flat brush for background lay in. I begin on a toned canvas, either cool or warm depending on the portrait itself.

My method to begin is a draw on, freehand, with a charcoal pencil or soft pencil - 4b or more and sometimes a 2b for detail. I then dab off the excess with a soft eraser. 

My method tends to be a dry brush small stroke build up of layer over layer. Acrylic suits my working method as the paint is not overly wet and softly rubs pigmet onto the texture of the canvas well, for soft blending. On hardboard, I use more of a thin glazing method, with slightly damper pigment. I never load much on a brush. My finished surfaces are not textured or raised very much, if at all.