Hair

Timothy C. Tyler · 12-09-2003, 01:10 PM

This detail of hair was done wet into wet but not alla prima. I did some preliminary painting but then pretty much went over the whole thing fresh and wet into wet.

Minh Thong · 12-09-2003, 05:15 PM

Very nice.

I always struggle with hair. Actually I struggle with everything past prepping the canvas, but that's another thread.

In order to improve my hair-rendering I've been copying the hair in 'Proud Maisie' in charcoal and it's giving me fits. So now I'm back to blocking in the darkest darks and lightest lights and putting 'strands' of the correct value over that. It works for a beginner, but I've gotta get a better handle on this feature.

Minh

Timothy C. Tyler · 12-09-2003, 05:40 PM

I think this was the only the second time I've painted curly blond hair. It's tricky for me...these things are on-going learning deals for me.

I used 6 brushes of all kinds sables, stiff bristles and riggers. The trick is using lots of soft edges with a few crisp ones.

Sophie Ploeg · 12-11-2003, 07:05 PM

This is wonderful. Can you explain to a beginner in 'wet paints' but no beginner in painting (pastelist) what "wet in wet but not alla prima" means? Love the hair.

Timothy C. Tyler · 12-11-2003, 07:24 PM

I did what is sort of an underpainting of the hair just blocking lights and darks in a rather general fashion. Then I determined slowly the exact colors I wanted and then went into that underpainted area with all wet (fresh) paint so all my edges were soft and flowed easily into each other. I'd say the key is neither "just hoping and slinging paint casually" nor being too very slow and careful. I went dark into light and the opposite.

Sophie Ploeg · 12-12-2003, 07:33 AM

Thanks for that. I now know what you mean. The painting is wonderful! love it.

Tom Edgerton · 01-04-2004, 02:39 PM

Hair for me has always been a tension between too much detail and too little. It seems now to me to be one of those instances where it takes a certain number of passes and, as Tim says, a variety of brushes, plus a certain requisite amount of paint. The best mental construct for the action for me has been likening it to "weaving"--there's just a lot of back and forth. Then, when I step back and it looks overmodeled, as always, I hit a couple of places with my thumb to soften the excess rendering and fussiness. Wish I could get it right from the beginning but I can't.

Nice job, Tim.

Happy New Year--TE

Jim Riley · 01-31-2004, 12:16 AM

I never have much luck attempting the soft feeling that you achieved Tim but tried to keep the attached study light even though the brush strokes were obvious.