Self portrait in progress

[Josef Sy]

Hello everyone,

I am doing a self portrait in oil. The size is 20" x 16" canvas. I will post the progress and I am doing this part time so bear with me.

Suggestions and comments are all welcome. Thank you. Here is the initial sketch drawing onto the canvas.

[Josef Sy]

Update

[Steven Sweeney]

Josef,

Looks pretty good so far.

Watch your value shapes, not "even" but "especially" at this early stage. Keep them accurate and well-defined. I'm looking, for example, at the way the form of the nose and the cast shadow from it have changed in the two versions. (I'm thinking that the shadow would narrow as it rose toward the eye, as the bridge of the nose receded.)

You might consider putting the glasses in at a later stage. I think that trying to bring them along with the overall forms in the face and the head might give you misleading information. Even if only subconsciously, you'll likely find yourself relating features to those glasses frames (which after all have no fixed anatomical "home"), instead of to other features.

Be aware that self-portraits are very difficult to critique, in that neither you nor we can simultaneously view what you're looking at and what you're painting.

A great exercise, though, and a wonderful "record" to have.

Keep at it.

[Josef Sy]

Thanks Steven. I always have the hardest time at this stage, trying to block in, doing the tonal, and landmark everything. It is a real juggling act. I always find several things wrong when I come back at it.

First I thought of doing the glasses later but I find it hard because my glasses keep on shifting. I said if I commit to it I will not have to worry about it. But I think you are right. I should leave it to the later stage.

Next step is to correct proportional and tonal differences. Wish me luck.

[Peter Jochems]

Hi Josef,

Is the second photograph the underpainting? If it is, maybe for a following portrait you can try to use more of the color of the ground in the underpainting, instead of filling it all in. This kind of grey ground-color could be used as a midtone. But I wasn't sure which procedure you actually follow.

Keep up the good work.

Greetings,
Peter

[Elizabeth Schott]

Josef,

Are you looking in a mirror, or did you shoot a photo of yourself? If you are looking in a mirror and keeping your glasses on, do you find yourself distorting (magnifing) any of your features? This happens to me, perhaps because I am older and have those dreaded bifocals!

Good start!

[Josef Sy]

Thanks.

Peter,

Yes, this is supposed to be the underpainting, but as you can see it is too much of a midtone everywhere except for the lighter areas. The day I painted was overcast and sunny at times so I had a rough time with the tones.

Elizabeth,

Yes, I am painting this looking at the mirror and it is harder than I thought. I don't have bifocals (not yet ) but it is hard to have the exact pose everytime. It's a pain in the neck (no pun intended really). I have not noticed distortions but maybe I will ask my girlfriend if there are any. My glasses are not super strong.

I have come to a solution to take a picture of myself to save my neck. But I will still have a mirror in front when I paint for tonal reference.

[Chris Saper]

Hi Josef,

You wrote:

I have come to a solution to take a picture of myself to save my neck. But I will still have a mirror in front when I paint for tonal reference.

Don't do this.

In the photo left will become right; in the mirror, left stays left. I made this mistake once and ended up with two right sides of the face. You need to finish the way you began.

I think it will become much easier to get yourself back into position as you practice a little bit.

At this point, I would suggest that you make a decision about whether you will change any aspect of the background, or leave it essentially the way it is. If you will be changing the color or value, you should do it now, because it will continue to influence the value and hue of every stroke you place.

In self-portraits I painted from the mirror, I both took my glasses off, and painted myself without glasses (the latter, just vanity...I rarely wear my contact lenses). I am very very nearsighted, which means two things: first, I can still see well enough without my glasses to read or to paint, as long as I am not too far from the canvas; and second, the strength of my glasses changes the size of my eyes appreciably, making them much smaller. (The opposite happens with people who are very far-sighted.)

When I have painted people with glasses, I have left the frames till the very last. I don't think you can work the underlying shapes very well when you have to paint around frames.


Good luck

[Josef Sy]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the advice. I will try to do it without glasses. I will wear contacts instead or have the mirror closer.

I am going to do another pass to get the tones correctly and to mend some proportional inaccuracies. The background will be a bit darker in tone. I will do it on the next setting too.

Thanks again for the great advice. I will post the progress soon.

[Lon Haverly]

Josef, don't be afraid to use some darks for shadow. It will add strength to your painting if you are a bit bolder in your shadows. Without a reference photo, it is hard to critique. However, this is the time to place your shadows with confidence.