Lace and silk

[Leslie Bohoss]

Hi to all,

I need your help:

Is there a "simple" way to paint (transparent) lace cloth in oil? Or is this not recommended for beginners?

I used the search function, already, but found not so much explaining. About silk (another problem for me) a little bit more.

It's important for me, because most of the the Old Master paintings have silk or lace or both.(By the way, I mean, that makes the paintings so "Old Master-Style")

Perhaps I want to copy this here.

Thank you!!

[Celeste McCall]

Hi Leslie,

I think that there are at least two (or more) ways to accomplish this with acrylic or oils.

The easiest way to paint lace and satin like your picture is to block in the satin dress with the medium value that you see in the center part of the complete dress. However, I would have begun the entire painting by applying the medium value shadow color of the dress (in acrylic paint) all over the canvas before sketching. Therefore the medium value of the entire painting would be already established and would negate this first step. Then apply the darkest shadows near the hand and waist and to the speck to the right of her shoulder. (I would block these in with acrylic paint as it would dry faster. Let dry completely) Next you will apply the lightest values on the dress with opaque paint.Let it dry. Now finish the dress with transparent glazes and impasto highlights. The veil would be painted the same way. Note: You will know if you did it right if the medium and dark values are painted thinly and the highlights are thickly painted.

The harder way would be to use glazing but it takes forever. You would start by painting the values that you see when you squint at the picture. After this is completely dry, you will begin with layers of glazes. Some will be more opaque than others. The glazing for the satin dress in the shadows, for instance, will be more opaque than the glazes of netting (veil) over the highlight area. Paint the highlights on the veil last. Note: Be sure and finish the dress first and let dry completely before beginning the veil.
Jan van Eyck did this beautifully on his painting of a satin pillow behind the wedding couple in The Arnolfini Wedding.*


*page 18 of a book entitled, Techniques of the World's Great Painters, by c. editor Waldemar Januszczak, published 1980. See the demo cartoon on his technique. The same book also has another example of this on pg. 64, box #4, by Antoine Watteau who painted georgeous silk, satin and lace clothing.




Hope that this helps you.

[Timothy C. Tyler]

I'll bet this work was done about 1820. I'll also bet there are many hours in this project. I would expect lots of dry brush details and lots of small brushwork. Sargent did his transparent dresses very differently in the 1890's. That might be an interesting comparison for you.

[Celeste McCall]

Hi Tim,

I am not sure why this painting has such a modern feeling for me, but it does. I wonder if anyone out there knows when it was executed. It almost has a Bougereau or Vigee "feel" to it but I still think that it might be more modern. Perhaps it is the scan, or perhaps the contrast has been exaggerated by manipulation, but most 1800's art that I have observed has a softer feel to it, and the models usually have softer, rounder, faces...with the exception of some. Perhaps it is the long arm bones that signal a tall girl to me which was real unusual back then. Now, mind you, I am probably going to be very wrong about this so please be gentle when you say, "I told you".

I have no idea why I am getting this feeling of modernity from it, but I would put it more in the 20th century. But, then again, I am 85 percent wrong on guesses most of the time, so I am probably wrong on this also. But it sure is fun making guesses.

[ReNae Stueve]

Celeste,

I have been looking for a good demo on fabric. I've found Virgil Elliot's piece at John Hagan's site very helpfull.

www.geocities.com/~jlhagan/advanced/cloth3.htm

What I'm also seeing is the way silk plays with light. At the slightest turn of the cloth the contrast from light/mid/dark range is extreme and very defined. I'm going to apply this to a piece I'm working on now.

I hope this helps us both.

[Timothy C. Tyler]

The trees look very French 1785-1830 to me. These may have been inspired by those paintings and I don't know the work-could be be new.

[Leslie Bohoss]

Hello!

Thank you, Celeste ! (what a pretty name) Well, if I understand correctly (short form):

1. Subject must be painted completely in middletone, but no veils or lace yet. Let dry.

2. Through the variations of thick or thin paints building up the shadows and folds (highlights) in the dress or veil. Let dry again.

3. Very thin washes makes the finally transparency effect of lace.

All this is done, either direct (or acrylic - short dry time), or glazing (more time, of course).

Is that right?

(I was at your HP, have a few question to you,but later)

To Tim,

I found this picture with Picture Grabber (filter: all jpg's). No filenames or category. I did not know that it was a Sargent. In the same directory found this pictures, a wonderful example for silk.

I had already the feeling, that it's no job for a weekend. I attempt it for all that, if it works I'll post here, otherwise ...

To Renae,

Hagan's HP is very really super! Thank you. Now, I have the whole. Something is mentioned there about Virgil's Bible. That is a good book?

Back to silk: I found this here,with tips from famous SOG members:http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...highlight=silk But, no "how to" page for lace.

Thank you again,
Leslie.

[Celeste McCall]

Dear Leslie,

Here is a link to some of the pictures that I have manipulated to show how the easy way to paint lace and satin would be accomplished. I did this very quickly on Photodeluxe so please realize that I cannot do this justice in 15 minutes.

Please click on the link below: Remember the 1st two steps would be in acrylic paint and the rest in oils.

http://groups.msn.com/CelesteMcCallc...ng.msnw?Page=1

I hope that this helps explain an easy method for your quandry.

[Timothy C. Tyler]

That second one is lovely! I'm sure I was not clear but, neither of these are Sargents. Great surfaces though, aren't they?

[Leslie Bohoss]

Hello,


Super, Celeste, many thanks for your job with Photoshop! I imagine almost similar.

Now,I found in Sheppard's book, How to Paint like the Old Masters a chapter to Tizian's technique, a portrait with transparent cloth, including step-by-step pictures and short comments. No lace but it is similar. I was blind I started yesterday with this picture.

Tim, I believe I remember this HP was from China; you can order the pictures, landscapes, copies from old masters, etc..

I found the link:
http://beauty.alloilpaint.com

Thank you!
Leslie