Well, I missed a week due to illness. Not only was I sick, but the model called me to cancel that day, too - so I guess it worked out okay.
We all worked hard toward a finish. I added the cool-neutral background, and added hair detail. Yes, the addition of a more unified background
does make a difference! Just goes to show how important it is to seriously consider a good critique. Look how it made the front plane of the features come forward. It also allowed me to soften the outer edge of her hair, giving it a bit of atmosphere. I also cleaned up her neck a bit.
As with most of my work (and I'm sure a lot of you feel this way about your own work), I can see areas that need improvement. But, this session is done and I must let it stand. Any improvements will come on the next painting. That should be the goal with
each consecutive painting, actually!
The most important things that I wanted to get across in this demo are really the basics: the importance of light plane vs. shadow plane values; color mixing in the light and dark planes (chromatics vs. neutrals, respectively); and, of course, maintaining the integrity of the drawing (structure).
Looking back at the teaching process, I found that these were the issues that I helped the students with the most. In a way, it runs concurrently with, say, simplifying one's palette: whittling away the unnecessary in order to avoid over-complication. If these basic things are brought to the fore (especially if one is having difficulty), then most painting issues can be resolved. It seems to me that 95% of the time, forgetting to adhere to one, two, or a combination of these three principles are responsible for problems in painting.
My responsibility is to teach these principles properly and have the student apply them practically (i.e. - by
doing, not just watching me do it). Through correct repetition, the application becomes intuitive, and other esoteric issues can be addressed more completely - such as character, likeness and mood. At that point, you're well on your way to becoming a successful portrait painter!
If you are interested in any of my classes (I also teach still life, Illustration, and figurative drawing/painting), contact
The New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester. You can download a Lifelong Learning catalog from the site as a PDF. You may also find me at
Sanctuary Arts here in Maine. They, too, have a downloadable catalog. Additionally, feel free to private message me here, or e-mail me (just click the profile on the left!).
Thank you so much for checking out this demo! I sincerely hope it provided you with some insights into the portrait painting process.