Mother & Child - WIP

[Biki]

Ok what i do first is:

I work out my composition in the ratio to the canvas.
When i have that down, I print out the photo on A4.
Then i draw a line from corner to corner & corner to corner
then i draw a line to halve it both vertical & horizontal - sometimes, like this time,I also halve the four squares - it depends on how much detail is in it.

Then i do the same on the canvas.
This helps me to place the image correctly on the canvas.

(you can see in the photo i am sending, the lines drawn on the canvas)

with a watercolour pencil ( usually flesh coloured - but i couldn't find it today & went a bit too red) i draw in lightly the outlines that i can see.
Once i have this down, I go in with some paint.
- i work with a fine brush, and i use Old Holland "brown ochre light" - as i paint in the drawing, i will inevitably find some mistakes. I "take out" my errors with a brush that has a little turps on it - and so i wipe away my errors with turps. I try & use as little of the turps as possible. i am using only turps & paint at this stage.

this is SO in the beginning stages. I can see already so many errors, but i can adjust them tomorrow. - for instance, the baby's ear is not in the right position. - and the whole shape of the baby's head is off.

I also try & print out at the exact same size, any parts of the painting that i want to get absolutely right. In this case, the mother's head & the Baby's head.
if i do this, & have them pinned to an art board that is behind the canvas, i can eyeball any differences really easily.... by simply letting my eyes jump from one to the other quickly - you will notice that they move - ( just like a cartoon does) if anything is amiss.
Of course when i am painting from life i cannot do this, but for photos, this is a great tool to use.

[Biki]

Day 2:


today, i just continued with my brown ochre light refining the drawing & correcting any mistakes.
then i went in with my darkest darks using OH Warm Sepia Extra.
I blocked in the background so i could see values better using a mix of Indigo Blue & Ultra blue.
then i put in the middle tones with the brown ochre - and pumped the highlights slightly with a scumble of white added to the brown ochre light.
i also used a little Venetian red in some places & put some cool shadows in with the blue/white mix.

i am almost happy with the drawing. I still need to adjust the mother's ear a bit ( too narrow) - and also of course adjust the head shapes - but that comes at the end when i do the hair.

On Sunday, and early today, I had thoughts that i couldn't do it. I always do that - then i just battle on & it starts to come together.
One thing that painting has done for me is give me courage. It takes courage to continue when things are not going well - and even more to persevere until i have done the best i can do.

Of course this is nowhere near finished. I have miles ahead of me yet.

[dcorc]

Excellent, Tricia!

looking good, and a very clear description of approach.

(I've added one of those silly butt icons, to protect the puritans from discovering the actual functional purpose of the breast! )

Dave

[jo_b]

Tricia- Wonderful WIP .
You are doing a great job! Thank you for posting it. Your method is far from wonky. I love seeing how other artists work their way through a painting, and I know that it is very helpful to new artists to watch the steps involved in the process of painting a "classical realist" painting.

Since you already mentioned the adjustments to the mothers head and the babies ear, one concern- her forearm looks a little to thin. I do hope you plan on putting in her hand that is holding the baby.

Great painting Biki! Keep at it!

Jodi

[DLJohnson]

Your works is ALWAYS so beautiful! I will be watching as this one goes along. I so appreciate those who take the time to show the WIP and give working technique as well. I always learn something and get inspired to try a different method or colors. Thank you.

Donna

[TempusFugit]

Thanks very much for posting this and explaining so clearly.
TF

[Biki]

Thank you for your comments. I am glad you are enjoying this.
I hesitate to post a WIP as i am still in learning stage myself, but i have learned from others in the past three years, so i also like to try to give back what i have learned.

If anyone sees anything amiss in my approach, feel free to speak up.

yes Jo, I haven' quite gotten down to the arm yet. I am going to take a ref pick of my neighbour holding her baby to get the hands in - so thought to leave the arms a bit vague in case i have to move them a tad.

I will have to pay special attention to the mouth at some point - perhaps toward the end, to get the expression just right. She has the sweetest little pout going on, but even if i am a teensy bit off in that, i will lose the expression.

[Biki]

I won't be working on this again until Friday, but my next step is to put both the original pic & the pic of the painting side by side on the computer screen & see where it is off.

I tried this today & it was way off. However, when i looked at the canvas, it was not so way off at all. I think because my photo of the painting was not squared up & so there are distortions. (Is there a trick to that, anyone .... getting it squared up?). I will take another photo tomorrow & see if i can get it any better.

This is a good thing to do tho, to see any variations. If the images are the same size, it is usually not too hard to pick the errors up.
I usually do this over & over again at this stage of the painting before I begin again = when i think all is cool - but then find out it isn't.

How would i get on without the computer to help me, i wonder.?
Well, for one thing, I wouldn't be showing anyone the original pic - so i would possibly get away with it.

[rosebard]

Biki great start!!

Thanks for posting as a WIP and for let us know how you are approching this lovely inspiration. Well done!!

[Biki]

Thanks Rose, - glad you like it.

My laptop that I use in the studio died today - or at least the video card did. It is with the tech & I hope i get it back tomorrow.

I did a little more tho from the printouts, but cannot see detail without the computer screen. I will work on it another hour or so & send some pics tonight or tomorrow.

[dcorc]

Originally Posted by Biki

I tried this today & it was way off. However, when i looked at the canvas, it was not so way off at all. I think because my photo of the painting was not squared up & so there are distortions. (Is there a trick to that, anyone .... getting it squared up?).

There's not an "easy trick" so far as I am aware - best thing is to take some precautions with the photography (as per the hints I posted in the sticky at the top of the oils forum) - in short, get as far back from the painting as possible, make sure the camera is square-on to the painting Use a tripod!! and use a long focal-length lens so as to minimise lens distortions.

Dave

[bjs0704]

Biki - Thanks for showing us your procedures! This should be a gorgeous painting!

I like the backing board on your easel. It’s a very nice set up to allow you to compare your source material to your final painting.

Your explanations of your process are wonderfully clear! I really enjoyed reading about how you use the computer to check your accuracy!

Good luck with everything!

Barb Solomon

[bjs0704]

Biki - I was wonder what method you were using. I have used different types of grids over the years, but I right now I use a 4 by 4 grid. I make sure that my canvas and photo are in the same proportion to each other. ( A 3” x 4” photo could be blown up to 6” x 8” or 18” x 24” for instance.)

Then, I grid the original. I divide each side in half. And then into quarters. I mark the final canvas the same way. This give enough marking to help you keep proportion!

I hope that I am clear and that I understood your question!

Barb Solomon

[Biki]

Hello Barb,

No, i was not asking about grid, but rather how to photograph your painting without causing distortion.
s'ok tho. Dave has answered. Thanks Dave.

[Biki]

My next step, knowing it is not perfect, is to photograph the painting & view it side by side with the original.

I have done this several times, but this time I will show you what I can see. These notes I will take into the studio tomorrow.

I am looking forward to getting my drawing right, so I can start whacking some paint on.

I am showing these in greyscale, because I find it is easier to see if my brain is not having to also deal with colour.

Mother:Lower Elbow
Take wrist higher on curve
Lengthen nose
Lower lip
Chin rounder
Neck highlights all wrong
Make shadow on arm smaller
Lower brow at curve

Baby:
Lower eye
Make Inside of ear smaller
Make line of back straighter
Make shoulder higher.

I will do a final check after these adjustments before I start applying slightly thicker paint & concentrating on values to a higher degree.

I know the head shapes are also not right, but I will leave that until closer to the end.

I have just blocked in a window here – what do you think. It is a bit like Richard suggested, but at a different angle. I will have to find a reference somewhere to copy from.

My neighbour has still not come in for the pose on the hands. I wish she would hurry up.