Painting Speed

[Heidi Maiers]

I think time spent making the portrait largely depends on two things - how good your reference material is and how picky the client is. If the resource material is bad - especially in cases of posthumous portraits - and if the client is difficult to please, the amount of rework can go on and on, adding months to the job.

[Jeff Fuchs]

This is an enlightening thread. I've been watching videos by Scott Burdick, Morgan Weistling and others. While they are somewhat compressed for time, they seem to film every brushstroke of the process of painting the face, and edit for time when they get to the background.

Weistling's video is ten hours long, and he seems to spend nearly six hours on just the face. The results are beautiful, but as he points out, it's not a portrait. It looks generally like the model, but I imagine he would have to spend a great deal more time to satisfy a portrait client.

I have trouble making myself slow down. I paint much too quickly, and lose accuracy as a result.

One problem for me is that I have a very hard time painting over dry paint. I feel like I can't come back to a painting, because I'll ruin it if I paint on the previous day's work (didn't oil paint used to dry slowly? Seems to dry instantly now).

For now, I scrub down just about everything I paint -- partly because I never finish anything, so I might as well re-use my canvas -- partly because my skill level is not where I want it to be.

I think I need to make a concerted effort to get out of this box and force myself to paint on just one picture over an extended period of time. Painting wet on wet is not an option for long projects, so I just have to learn to paint over dry paint. Heck. If Rembrandt could do it, how hard can it be?

[Linda Brandon]

Hi Jeff, nice to see you again. Some of us here on the Forum (like me) paint several coats of paint on a surface (remembering the 'fat over lean' principle). It's not archievally unwise if you do it correctly and aesthecially I personally like the effect.

For me, speed has as much to do with how many coats of paint I apply as it does anything else.

And hi Enzie, thanks for starting this interesting topic!

[Michele Rushworth]

I've been watching videos by Scott Burdick, Morgan Weistling and others.

Are these the ones you get from that rental place, Jeff?

Painting over dry paint is easy if you oil out the dry surface first. Otherwise I find the drag of the old paint on the new stuff is not pleasant and it's very hard to match colors and values. (I oil out with a 50/50 mixture of linseed and mineral spirits, brushing it over a dry area and wiping most of it off. It restores the true value and color to the dark areas and makes a nice surface to paint into.) The old paint has to be very dry or it will smear during the oiling out, though.

I think it would be just about impossible to paint everything perfectly in one go, so using multiple layers is pretty much essential.

[Jeff Fuchs]

Originally Posted by Michele Rushworth

Are these the ones you get from that rental place, Jeff?

I bought the Weistling Video, and rented others.

I've heard of oiling out the canvas, and I have tried it, but never had it explained as you have. I'll try it again.

Linda: I didn't mean to imply there was anything wrong with it, as I'm well aware that almost all oil painters paint over dry paint, but I'm struggling with it.

I didn't mean to get the thread sidetracked, but I seem to have a tendency to do that.

I should start a new thread.

We apologize for this interruption. now back to our regularly scheduled topic.

[Janel Maples]

Hey Enzie,

For what it is worth...... I'm a poke. : )

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Jeff,

Those artist's who actually show the painting process from the initial outline to the absolute last brush stroke, can be counted on a hand. I have become a true believer in three week or longer workshops. Only then, is there enough time built in for the instructor to show each and every step and explain. Furthermore, the student has an opportunity to really digest what is being taught and apply the procedures under the watchful eye of the instructor. Most people don't have the patience to watch a somewhat repetitive process unless they adore the technique of their particular master.

Jeff, by realizing that you work too fast you have already started to admit to yourself that there are issues that you need to address before going on to the next step. It does take an iron will to slow down, but it is so worth it!

Regrading the oiling out method, Marvin has taught me to use a dropper to place drops of oil all over the canvas. Then using a soft T-shirt rag you wipe the entire surface down. When just a sheen remains, you rub a clean finger over the area. The finger should also have a slight sheen. If it is too oily you have to wipe more off, if your finger comes away bone dry, use more oil. I hope that helps.

Linda, you are welcome.... At the Getty I was amazed to see that Bouguereau did this huge painting of "Song of the Angels" 84"x60" for the Salon. God only knows how long that took him, but to top it all off he did an exact replica of the same painting in a (I' m guessing now)
30"x40" size. I wonder how he kept himself motivated.

Janel, a poke ...hmmm?!

[Enzie Shahmiri]

While I am on the subject of motivation, I like to say on those days when I feel there is very little progress and the day just seems to drag on, what motivates me the most is, seeing the beautiful paintings done by our contemporaries. When I see a new post of someone's work I admire, it is the equivalent of eating an energizer bar, drinking a great cup of cappuccino, etc. I perk up, tell myself to get with it and voila-back to the easel it is. Thanks folks!

[Janel Maples]

Originally Posted by Enzie Shahmiri

Janel, a poke ...hmmm?!

What I mean is I am slow. I am not sure if you understood what I meant.

I could not agree with you more about being motivated by the work of others. I get such a boost when I see good paintings and this forum is a great blast for that.