"Roland" in progress
 

This is phase one of "Roland", at 34" x 40", my largest canvas to date. I have been working on it for two months in my mind and in charcoal sketches.

Another first for me was stretching raw linen which I probably overprimed as the canvas has lost much of its tooth. My brushes flew today! Maybe that's a good thing?

I believe the underpainting shows the direction I plan to take this. The jacket and some other areas will go darker, but I'm going to do that in a cooler lay-in tomorrow.

Your comments are highly valued!

This way...
 

This is the most critical design stage in a painting and I flip my painting upside down at this point and ask myself:

Is the composition OK?

Is the anatomy OK? Flip your reference material over too and check it against the anatomy.

...AND THAT WAY
 

If things aren't crystal clear after flipping the painting upside down, I really tap into my "right brain thinking" with the following...

I stand with my back to the easel and view the upside down painting in a mirror...example below.

How is the composition now?

If you view the reference material now too, you can often spot exactly what you need to do to "get a likeness."

Thank you so much, Karin!

I am posting the photo source that I am using in addition to the sketches I made from life... I think I've got the main gesture and anatomy in place. Do you agree?

Phase2
 

Today I applied color with a vengence! Thick and very "paintable," I think I'll let this application set a while before going back in to refine with some medium. Comments always appreciated.

From your reference photo, I thought the sitter's left hand was going to be a real problem, but you've really nailed it! Very lush and painterly, I love it.

Nice. You appear to have retained the freshness of the original...and that isn't always easy to do (at least for me). :)

My one comment would be the "architecture" in the background....it appears that it should really slant more (i.e., clearly defined as a curtain) or be accurately vertical (i.e., wall).

Thank you for your comments, Mari and Karin!

The wooden screen behind him might look better with a bit less slant, I agree...but, it is neither a wall nor curtains the latter of which I plan to place beyond that on viewer's right (as in photo).

I took a second look and think that your reference photo is slightly askew. Your original photo (on the left) seems tilted to the left...

Hi Jeanine,


Your progression has been great! The face looks fresh, proportioned, and you have captured the likeness. You will probably do this anyway, but in the resource photo, there is a wonderful blue cast under the chin and above the right (my right) lip that breaks up the warmth in his skin tone. Also, the left hand (my left) isn't as developed as the right--the right hand is well defined.

Keep posting photos as you progress!
Renee Price

Fabric, Water Element
 

Thank you, Renee! I will keep your valuable comments in mind as I move along.

Today I straightened the line of the screen (per Karin's observation) and worked paint on paint on the eyes. The paint fom yesterday was tacky but not completely dry... A bit like sculpting!

Nit: The jacket is looking a bit more like velvet than summer weight wool and I am trying to figure out how to fix that... Sharper folds perhaps? Less medium? I tend to favor thin paint when covering a large area. Any suggestions would be enourmously helpful!

Background Decision: On viewer's right side, I am trying to decide if sheers with a suggested water element would work??? Sailboats on the distant horizon would reflect the sitter's hobby, but I do not want to distract from the man. (Actual light source are windows overlooking a harbor which are not in view.)

Thank you all for caring enough to comment!

"Roland" Phase 3
 

Do we like the window with view from our home??? (Sitter is my husband..) I am not wed to this design element, though it would add lots of meaning to "the story" of the man... I think it might be nice with a heavier window frame and darker curtain off to viewer's right...??? After working all day, I cannot help but look straight at it, which, I realize, is not the idea of a background...

I worked the jacket and pants today and believe I am closer to the fabrics than in previous post.... Tomorrow, I'll go back into the face and hands...:bewildere

Upside down?
 

Karin,

I noticed on this current subject you turned the image upside down. Now, I have read this in books and seen it on videos, I have even been with a portrait instructor who looked at my painting upside down and said, "Hmmm..." I paid $180 for that "hmmm."

Well, I would like to know exactly what I'm looking for when I turn a painting upside down.

Thanks.

A quick point, the "going away hand" looks dimensional and in proportion, but the hand closest to us might be too large. I think you are looking at a photo distortion. The distance from the inside wrist to the end of the middle finger is equal to the distance from the chin to the hair line in most people. If you take into account foreshortening of the hand, you can see where there might need to be a size adjustment.

Peggy

P.S., The distance from the wrist to the middle finger the longest distance in the hand, and the gesture of the hand is also shown in the wrist to the middle finger (...actually, the shoulder to the middle finger...). That gestural flow to the middle finger is extremely important.

Thank you so much, Peggy! I will take your precise comments into consideration when I go back into the hands tomorrow... I tend to elongate/enlarge before refining an area so I can paint the background back into it... What do you think of the water element in the background?

IMO the loose treatment of the window in the background works well.... Because of the cool colors and the loose brushwork, the hint of the water and building that comprise the landscape, it remains flat, stays a design element, becomes almost Diebenkorn-esque.

You mentioned stregthening the window frame but this might make the background compete too strongly with the figure. As it is, I love it.

I always learn from Peggy's posts and from her tapes, which I HIGHLY recommend. I am reminded again how everything in the painting can be measured against a basic unit, from the sitter's chin to hairline, or chin to bottom of the nose, etc. When I become crosseyed from looking it helps to re-think simple measurements in simple units.

JEANINE:

I really like the painting...the window and scenery really work!

MARI:

I second that! Peggy's tapes are very comprehensive. She is a very good nuts and bolts "explainer" of things.

MORRIS:

You turn the painting upside down in order to switch your brain function from left to right. Doing this can give you a "fresh eye" and can help you instantly spot a problem that you may have overlooked before.

The logical and linear thinking Left brain can sometimes get "stuck" and can benefit from a "kick" from the more creative and intuitive Right brain.

Suddenly looking at something in a less logical way (backwards, upside down, through a filter, etc.) will oftentimes allow an artist a sudden insight into solving a problem.

The popular book, "Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain" explains this in great detail. Even though many artists knew to do these things long before the book was written, we really didn't know why. :)

Near Completion
 

I am finishing up in the next few days. Thank you all for helping me through this odyssey. I can still make changes.