Three new portraits
 

Here they are, finally finished after weeks of sneaking in and out of these children's house (the portraits were a surprise for the father). The girl's portrait was painted from life, the boys with the usual B&W photo references, oil on linen.

I would have liked to have a little more room to move around, but the mother was very keen on the small size, so I had to stick to head and shoulders. I think though that this size gives them an intimate and cosy feeling, and I tried to suggest some relaxed pose to avoid the passport photo effect.

The painting are all the same size, but I have a brand new Mac computer and still have to figure out how to manage photos properly! I hope you will like them, thank you for looking

Ilaria

Dear Ilaria.

This is quite a satifying trio! You have created three portraits of highly unique individuals, and yet make them a family through your inimitable style and design. I bet the parents are thrilled. I love the way you elegantly simplify everything to its essence. Well done!

Garth

PS: which Mac do you have? Congratulations!

Ilaria,

What a great job you have done! It is so very difficult to integrate the painting elements in a trio of portraits, yet keep them individualized. I just love how you have created original and successful compositions for each portrait, yet they are still unified.

Could you talk about your decision-making with regard to placement, background, etc.?

Thank you
 

Garth, your comments are always so well articulated, thank you for taking the time.

I have a powerbook G4 15", so I don't have to share with the children anymore. I have spent the last week with my nose in there, I hope the novelty wears out fast, or my next commission will take ages to deliver !

Isn't it really difficult these trio thing: painting three portraits of different persons, heads of different ages and sizes, and find something to keep them together somehow but still being true to their identity?

I am doing it again in the paintings I am now working on, they span from eight to sixteen years old, it's going to be tough.

Here it's a sneak preview of the first one.

Ilaria

Chris, let me go to sleep, it's past midnight here, and tomorrow I'll put down the thoughts that crossed my mind while I was working
I.

Ilaria,

Your sneak preview is gorgeous, a superior composition especially being a square, and a real treat to see. What delicious colors! I can't wait for the rest.

Bravo!

Garth

Chris, thank you very much for yor comments, our posted crossed yesterday, so you asked me about unifying while I was writing on the same subject to Garth!

Right, so this was my strategy.

There are a few technical elements that unify the lot. Scale and size is the first one, it appears better when you see them live, but they are consistent and true to the real proportions of the heads, so the girl's slightly bigger, etc..

I use a limited palette, two yellows, two reds, two blues and white, so there is a certain unity in the colour throughout the paintings. Also, I chose to have a flat background behind them, something that would put them in their rooms, so I have a rug, a victorian fireplace and a poster (the latter was also very useful to lose the boy's ears, that stick out a little).

But for me the most important unifying element it's more of a philosophical kind. I struggled a lot to understand it, and now I am starting to grasp it and I think it shows from these last works. I'll take it from afar: the more I work, the more I am gaining the confidence to work live. This is enabling me to spend more time with the subject and creating a person to person relationship. The result is that the reaction to being painted comes out more clearly, so this is a powerful element that I think keeps the paintings together: they are all interacting with me.

The little boy is sweet, he is telling me he wants to be painted, the middle child is challenging, the girl, the one I spent more time with, she just didn't let me in. I am mother of three boys, teenage girls are a mystery to me, and I was uneasy in her room, and she was shy, she did not look, so this is how I painted her.

All this is, I think, giving a deeper dimension to my work, and I owe it all to my tutor, Minna Stevens. During the first term she pushed me on technical matters, managing the quantity of oil in the paint, dealing with edges, and so on. On our last meeting instead she told me to forget all the technicalities and just go for the person. I did not get it at the beginning, but now I start to understand, she is such a clever lady, you can view her work at www.minnastevensportraits.com.

So Garth this is where my question on your last painting came from. Because I am working on this idea of the relationship with the subject, I was interested in the non relational approach. I mean, if it is possible to build a portrait on the tension between painter and model, the contrary is also an option, which is, building it on its absence, on the unawareness of the model, so I find this is THE most powerful element in your painting, rather then the exquisite technique.

Am I talking sense?

Ilaria

Ilaria-

Excuse me for butting in but I just wanted to tell you how much I like these pieces and to thank you for all of the posts, especially the last one. How you captured the inner selves of each child with such delightful style and simple grace.

It is as if you captured every important element and let all of the fluff fend for itself.

Thank you and Bravo!

Your Palette
 

" I use a limited palette, two yellows, two reds, two blues and white, so there is a certain unity in the colour throughout the paintings."

After studying your paintings, I am so very interested to know what your yellows, reds, blues and even the white that you use are. I love the boldness in your style and also that of your tutor, Minna Stevens. Very strong and powerful. I thank you for sharing it.

Palette
 

Carol, this is a bit of a thorny subject...
I normally use:
yellow ochre pale
lemon yellow
(rarely Michael Harding Naples yellow)
Permanent rose W&N
vermillion (possibly Michael Harding but is sooo expensive)
french ultramarine
viridian (I know it's green not blue, but works as a blue to neutralize)
titanium white

Remember though, it's not what you use but how.
xxx
Ilaria