OP Classroom - Portrait

[Pat Isaac]

I am going to be doing a portrait of a young girl and I encourage you to follow along or try your own portrait. There are probably as many techniques out there as there are artists, but this is the way I start and finish a portrait. Along the way, I hope you will ask questions, make observations and try your hand at a portrait. This is the reference photo. I love the colors in this photo and the hat.

When doing a portrait I always do it on scrap paper first as I erase a lot before I feel comfortable with the likeness. This is my first drawing with most of the sketch lines erased.


I then cover the back of the paper with white soft pastel as I will be transferring it to dark green colorfix. I chose that color as I thought it would be a good contrast for the photo colors. If I were using a lighter paper then I would use a darker color pastel. Once the image is transferred, I then go over my lines with white oil pencil so I won't lose them.


I am now ready to add color. I always work over my whole painting at once so I feel I have established a relationship between the colors and the values. The first step is to roughly block in the colors. I have numbered the colors that I used.

1 - Sennelier #202, geranium lake.
2 - Holbein #20A - purple, #3
3 - Sennelier #230, rose ochre
4 - Holbein #26G, venetian red, #5
5 - Holbein #5A, hansa yellow, #5
6 - Sennelier #25, flesh ochre
7 - Sennelier #211, midnight blue
I also used an oil pencil, indigo blue for the pupil of the eye.
I will have more tomorrow. This is the very beginning stages.
The portrait is 10" x 15"

Pat

[LJW]

Pat, this is a terrific Classroom subject. It's going to be a great painting, and of so much help to those who do portraits. Jane

[reisa]

Thank you so much for doing this Pat! I just tried my hand at my first portrait the other day and have so many questions for you! This class will be such a help! I will be following patiently
Reisa

[Pat Isaac]

Thanks. I forgot to mention that in the initial drawing it is very important to measure, i.e. distances between eyes, where the nose falls in relation to mouth, chin, etc. Also the angle of the head and the angle of the features.

Pat

[AnnieA]

This is going to be great! The image is terrific - wonderful color and good value changes - and I hope to learn a lot. Thanks, Pat!

[marsias]

Hello Pat.
Thanks for doing a portrait after my request .

Can you change the color of the color-numbers and arrows to white, because they are so hard to see, in the future pictures?

Because i don't have any Holbein's, can you tell me which sennelier color can i use(comes closer) instead?


thanks.

[Pat Isaac]

I will do that, Nico, no problem and I will also let you know what color you might use. When I go to my studio tomorrow, I'll update the color list.

Pat

[eyepaint]

Oh goody, Pat, this'll be fun to watch!!

[Pat Isaac]

Thanks, join in if you want.

Pat

[wildart129]

I won't be able to join in, but I would love to watch this one develop.

[sparkling]

Pat this is goint to be a very interesting class, thanks for doing it.
I'm going to join it and hope that I'll be able to start my painting this evening or tomorrow night. I do not have those colors you are using, but I hope to get along with the few I own.

[Pat Isaac]

It doesn't matter that you don't have these colors, just use what you have. I hope to have an update today. As of now I am planning on getting to my studio.

Pat

[Pat Isaac]

Here is another update. I started putting in heavier color and worked around one eye. I do like to get the eyes in relatively soon as I feel that is the personality of the portrait. Only a few new colors were added.

1 - Holbein #26L venetian red #3 - closest Senn color #231
2 - Senn #77 rose madder lake pale
3 - Holbein #38C ultramarineblue #5 or Senn #6 lt. blue

I added some blue to the forehead and around the eye. I forgot to put the color in, but I added some Senn #13 yellow grey to the hair on the left side, her right. This color works really well for blondes.
I also used a color shaper to push the color near the edges of the cheek. Royal Sovereign firm.

Here is a close up of the area I worked on.

I think that does it for today. What did I leave out? I may not get back to this until Monday.

Pat

[Pat Isaac]

Hi Nico, I'll try.
When starting a painting, I need to know what is going to be the darkest dark and the lightest light and that way I can work all the values in between. If I work only in one area at a time, the values may not work for the painting as a whole. I may have made one area too dark and realize later that it should be lighter, but If I work the painting all together, that is less likely to happen. The same thing applies to color. The whole painting should have a harmonious feel as far as the color goes. Some colors may be too bright or dull when next to another color, also the value of the color matters. I hope I have made some sense of this so that you understand. Let me know.

Pat

[tyree]

pat....very interesting...and a wonderful start...thanks for the wip!!!! tyree