Tickled pink

Kimberly Dow · 09-12-2003, 07:51 PM

This is oil, 14x18? in an hour & 1/2.

My first 'from life' study in 10 years maybe.

I'm pleased because I nailed her likeness immediatly, but if she hadn't had to leave I could have fixed some values on our right - her cheek and hair are not dark enough.

I'm going to do at least one a week from now on from life. I'll set a time limit and make myself resist taking a photo to fix it later.

09-12-2003, 11:28 PM

Wow, this is really expressive! The drawing looks great, and I really like the cooler hues you have going there. The receding planes of the face recede awfully well.

What kind of lighting set up did you use? Are there 2 light sources in there?

When you approach hair in a situation like this, you could probably stick to 2 values. Mass in the general dark shape with a 1"+ brush, skip bangs and wisps. Throw in opaque lights and blend just the edges of the lights, quickly. The shape of the highlights on a dark mass will define the texture with almost no work.

I love it. Please post more as you do them.

Kimberly Dow · 09-12-2003, 11:48 PM

Lisa,

Thanks!

We were sitting near the front of my studio - which is a retail shop with big picture windows. The windows were to our left and behind her as well.

The hair I didn't even touch except a general outline until she left, then with 3 minutes til I had to leave I just brushed a bunch in. I like your suggestion of 2 values.

I didn't have time to get it good enough, but the highlights in her hair looked positively pink. I am going to paint her again. The funny thing is, my next model lined up is this goth girl who dyes her hair bright pink. May be a new theme for me.

She has some pretty nifty eyebrows doesn't she? Those are the exact shape of them, kinda like 3 sides of a square.

Timothy C. Tyler · 09-13-2003, 12:15 AM

Good for you Kim!

Try some transparent browns oxides for the hair. I love the green/red thing going on in the skin tones. Photos might well miss that.

Michele Rushworth · 09-13-2003, 06:39 PM

Kimberly, this is terrific. Maybe your best yet! Where are you finding your models?

Kimberly Dow · 09-13-2003, 09:39 PM

Thanks Michele. This is a friend of mine, Bridget. She is a preacher's wife, a trained minister herself. She is very fun. A preacher's wife who swears, dresses in tight clothes and acts in plays (where she always gets cast as the hooker/bad woman because of her awesome figure). She must be 12 years older than I am, but we both have 3 kids and became great friends.

The goth girl I asked to pose works at the local tobacco shop. She shyly showed me some of her fantasy art & I encouraged her. She is 20-something and my 6-year-old son thinks she is pretty, so I tease him & her. I asked her if she would pose & she said yes, I can't wait - that will be fun.

This is a really small boring town, but when I look around close enough I can find some great models. I have a habit of following people around the grocery store & then just before they report me to the manager I give them a card & ask them to pose. I've freaked a few out that way, but I've been in the paper enough now that I am generally considered harmless.

My studio is right next to the local Parole office also. The parolees hang out in front sometimes blocking my paintings - bummer, but I went to the officiers and told them if they were going to make them wait to attach those ankle monitors then they should send them in to me to make a few bucks sitting. There are some really scary looking dudes with tattoos. I want to paint one, but I don't necessarily want to be noticed by them.

There are some old cowboys around town also that I'd like to paint. I have one who said yes, but I forgot to get his number - he stops in once & awhile. His name is Jim Cayton? and he says he is a sculptor & one of his pieces is owned by Pres. Bush and is installed in the White House.

I used to moan about finding models, but now that I am more forward about it and a bit known - and so inspired by this forum - they seem to be all over the place. The local DARE officer (a woman, maybe 55 yrs old) came in and offered to pose nude. I almost dropped my paintbrush.

Jean Kelly · 09-14-2003, 01:48 AM

Hi Kim,

I'm glad to see you're having fun with the model search. I consider everyone I know (and don't know) to be a "victim", and have had no shortage of models since I went on the hunt! Be sure to look up the thread on model releases (the legal stuff) on the forum. You need to cover your bum too!

Great job on this portrait, working from life suits you well.

Jean