Category: Faces

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Art Drawing Faces Oil Painting Painting People Portrait

Back from Burnout

Oil painting of Fiona’s friend 10”x8” on gessoed Arches Oil Paper
Portrait of Fiona’s Friend with the Mona Lisa Smile, oil 10×8”

I’m finally back to painting and drawing again after a very long break. For nearly a year I had illustrated my dreams and the daily Wordle and had posted about half of them. Then I burned out.

For the first time in my life I went for months without drawing or painting and for the first time since I started my blog in 2006, I stopped posting to0. I was afraid my passion for painting was gone for good and wondered who I would be without it.

Finally my desire to paint and draw came back (hooray!!!) BUT I was so rusty! Before the burnout I was able to quickly sketch a decent likeness. That was gone (as you can see in some of the failed attempts below!)

Some of the preliminary sketch starts (that didn’t end up in the trash)

It took more than seven sketch-starts before I kind of remembered how I draw (above).

Final painting and 2 of the failed painting starts

Then it took 5 painting starts before I felt I had a good enough beginning structure to keep going and complete the portrait.

My goal was to capture her Mona Lisa-like smile and I wouldn’t stop until I did.

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Art Faces Painting People Portrait Watercolor

Portrait in Pink Poodles and Blue

Portrait in Pink (Poodles) and Blue, watercolor, 10×8”

By the time I was done with the drawing for this painting I was really bored of the subject and couldn’t motivate myself to paint it until the idea of pink poodles prancing on the page popped up.

Those pink poodles reminded me of how much fun I used to have drawing and painting anything that amused me, back in 2006 when I started this blog as a daily sketch journal 17 years ago.

From my crazy dreams to local dive bars to what was in my fridge, it was always fun. I’m doing that kind of sketching again, and will be posting them soon. Meanwhile, back to this silly portrait.

I was super tired the day I painted it and couldn’t come up with an interesting limited palette so I challenged myself with just two colors: WN Permanent Rose and Winsor Blue Green Shade. It wasn’t a great combination for a portrait but it was perfect for pink poodles.

I had a hard time getting an accurate scan of the painting which has a bit more turquoise color in the background and a little warmer color pink on the poodles and her skin. But even the correct colors are still pretty weird.

Sketches, Corrections and Reference Photo

You can click on the image above to see an enlarged version of the preliminary sketches, the corrections needed and the reference photo.

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Art Faces People Sktchy Watercolor

Emily in Watercolor with Odd 3-Pigment Palette

Emily Christen from Sktchy, Watercolor, 10×6”

I watched the interesting class taught by Kirsten Britt on Sktchy and then, as usual, I painted the subject completely differently than was instructed. Kirsten’s work is beautiful but is all about splotches (here’s her version on IG).

3-Pigment Triad, Limited Palette

I used an odd limited palette for this one which made it a little challenging. The pigments are DS Perylene Scarlet, DS Cobalt Teal and WN Raw Sienna. It wasn’t possible to get any real darks so I stuck with a high key painting.

Original sketch, graphite on paper, 10×6”
My check of the sketch in Procreate

I got very close with my sketch, even with the camera distortion; I only needed a few small adjustments.

Work in Progress – First passes of color
Photo reference
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Art Drawing Faces Portrait Sktchy Watercolor

Watercolor Portrait of Ms. Cherry

Watercolor portrait of Tori Cherry
Ms. Tori Cherry, watercolor, 9×7”

I signed up for a Sktchy Watercolor class to see what I could learn from their teachers. I planned to make myself try the teachers’ different approaches and I did attempt the super loose, wet in wet approach Dritan Duro, the teacher for this class demonstrated, but tossed the crappy results and started over, doing things my way.

Color wheel: WN Raw Sienna, WN Perm. Alizarin, Winsor Blue Green Shade

Interestingly, the 3-color limited palette I used for this painting was the same as the one I used for my painting of Dorothy, even though the two women look nothing alike. It’s a fun challenge to work with only a 3-color limited palette. (WN Raw Sienna, WN Perm. Alizarin, Winsor Blue Green Shade).

Freehand sketch, 9×7”

Above is my final sketch and below is my preliminary sketch, scanned into Procreate, with a tracing of the photo over it. I used it to check my drawing and then made the corrections to the final sketch above.

Corrections marked from tracing photo in Procreate over sketch
Tori Cherry, reference photo from Sktchy.
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Art Drawing Faces Painting People Watercolor

Dorothy of Oz: All Grown Up?

Watercolor painting of Dorothy from the Wizard Oz, as an adult, from a photo of a woman at a county fair
Dorothy of Oz, Watercolor on paper, 9”x6.5”

My first thought was, “Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, all grown up,” and, as the saying goes, “rode hard and put away wet” when I saw the photo (below) on photographer Earthsworld’s Instagram.

Photo reference by Earthsworld, posted with permission

My second thought was “I must paint her!” I contacted Earth (his real name) and he gave me permission to paint from and share his photo. Then, while the painting was in progress I came across the cartoon below on Instagram by artist WadeHate.

Cartoon of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz as a grown up, smoking a cigarette
Cartoon by WadeHate, posted with permission

It was too perfect, another image of Dorothy all grown up. He was kind enough to give me permission to share this artwork.

Experiments with background color in Procreate.
Bottom left was original before painting background.

The original photograph had a background I didn’t want so I experimented in Procreate with different backgrounds. I probably should have just left the background white (below).

Finished painting except for background.
Also, the limited palette of W&N watercolors notated:
Raw Sienna, Permanent Alizarin, Winsor Blue Green Shade

The deep orange I chose didn’t please me so I tried washing it off. That left an “interesting” peachy color and a paper surface that was not going to respond well to more paint layers. So, peachy pink is how it shall remain.

Painting in Progress, Final Sketch, Sketch check for accuracy in Procreate

When I checked my initial sketch I was delighted to see how close I got on my first try, and how few corrections were needed (above). It’s so nice to see progress, whether it’s in drawing or painting or both. This painting also went really well (except the background).

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Art Drawing Faces Painting People Portrait Watercolor

Terrible Watercolor Triad, Mean Model

Mean Model, Watercolor portrait of woman, 8.5”x7”
Mean Model, Watercolor, 8.5”x7”

I recently spent a couple weeks working through a Proportions and Rhythms of the Head portrait drawing class created by Bradwynn Jones. I watched him do the demo drawings (mostly while working out on my rower) and then sketched them myself. When I finished all the drawings I transferred them to watercolor paper and started painting them. This is the first one I painted.

Reference Photo of Mean Model

I took an immediate dislike to this model. She was pretty but mean-girl looking to me. I decided to experiment with a triad of colors on her that turned out to be equally unpleasant.

Final Sketch for the painting

Cobalt Violet has very low tinting strength and just sits on top of the paper, so it came right off if I tried to glaze over it. It is both opaque and granulating, causing an unpleasant texture for skin.

Color wheel test of triad limited palette

The QOR Nickle Azo Yellow also had low tinting strength and when mixed with the violet made a yucky brownish color for shadows. The QOR Paynes Grey combined with the yellow made a gross greenish-gold of her hair.

I didn’t really care because, like I said, take that, mean girl!

Also, Payne’s Grey; I’ve never understood why people use it. Most brands make it from black and ultramarine blue and sometimes a bit of violet. I guess it’s a convenience color, but one that would be so easy to make, though I prefer not to use black paint in watercolor.

Do you use Payne’s Grey? If you do please tell me why and which brand you like.

Initial sketch with needed corrections superimposed in Procreate
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Art Drawing Faces Painting People Portrait Watercolor

Quilt Lady in Watercolor

Quilt Lady, watercolor, 7×7”

While I drew and painted her I thought of her as one of the Quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, women who were direct descendants of the enslaved people who worked the cotton plantation there. I saw a traveling show of their quilts at a local museum years ago.

I painted this after watching a video of master Korean watercolor artist J Hunsung paint her. He didn’t credit* the photographer or model for this reference photo.

*The source photo was taken by photographer Jan Sochor.

Quilt Lady sketch 7×7”

It took three attempts to get the sketch right. I’m learning to take my time and get everything sketched in. And if things don’t quite fit together, fix it, don’t pretend it will be ok as is. Looking at my sketch compared to the reference photo below, I can see I still didn’t get it perfectly, but it felt close enough to go for it.

Initial block in

I was so pleased with these perfect flat washes in my initial block in that I had to share them. In watercolor, getting a flawless flat wash is not easy.

Uncropped painting with limited palette colors in the margin

With each watercolor painting, I’m experimenting with a different limited palette and then adding strokes of the colors used at the bottom of the painting. For this one I used Daniel Smith Quinacridone Gold, Winsor Newton Perylene Magenta, Daniel Smith Indanthrone Blue and a guest appearance in the jewelry only of Daniel Smith Perylene Scarlet. (I know it says DS Perylene on the painting but that’s a mistake.)

Watercolor set up with limited palette

I’m enjoying using fresh from the tube paint in a little porcelain palette instead of the ancient dried up old palette I had been using.

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Art Faces People Portrait Sktchy Watercolor

Blue Sky and Dreadlocks

Black man with dreadlocks against a blue sky painted in watercolor.
Blue Sky and Dreadlocks, Watercolor 10×8″

Continuing my watercolor relearning journey I’m making progress with each drawing and painting. I watched master watercolor artist Eudes Correia paint this gentleman in a Sktchy class from a photo he provided. You can see his version on Instagram here. I actually like my version better, which is a great feeling.

Limited Palette (from bottom of painting)

I used a limited palette: Raw Sienna, Permanent Alizarin, Cobalt and for the sky, Holbein Peacock.

Sketch for Blue Sky and Dreadlocks, 10×8″

I was happy when I checked my drawing to find that I had almost nailed it. Just had to make a few minor adjustments for his shirt and neck width.

L-R: My sketch with corrections, my painting, reference photo
(click to enlarge)
Categories
Art Drawing Faces Painting People Portrait Watercolor

In the Light, In the Dark

Lady in the Light, watercolor, 8×6″

After watching a Sktchy watercolor demo by Alison Pinto, I tried my hand at drawing (see below) and painting this sweet face. I want to assemble a good palette for watercolor portraits, so tried Alison’s interesting palette (see bottom of post for pigments and reference photos). So far I know I do not like Burnt Sienna in portraits.

Sketch for Lady in Light watercolor portrait
Sketch for Lady in Light
Lady in Dark, watercolor, 8x6.5"
Lady in the Dark, watercolor, 8×6.5″

I was a little happy with this painting until I realized I’d given her googly eyes and started trying to “fix” the painting, which with watercolor translates to “wreck” the painting. Oh well. This is a scan I made before I started “fixing.”

Lady in Dark,sketch
Lady in Dark, sketch

Pigments: : Winsor Lemon, Indian yellow, Permanent Rose, Holbein Opera, Burnt Sienna, Winsor Violet and Winsor Green Blue Shad

Categories
Art Drawing Faces Painting People Portrait Watercolor

Sweet Mime, Sad Mime, Not Really

Sweet Mime, Watercolor, 10×7”

In the reference photo (see bottom of post) he was just a skinny, shirtless guy photographed too close-up, which made his already big nose even bigger. I thought he looked like a French mime so I put him in a mime costume.

Below is my first attempt at painting him. I had so many problems with the drawing being off and the paint handling. His shirt, scarf and suspenders were so pretty and fresh before I muddied them up.

Sad Mime, watercolor, 10×7.5”

I’m still working on portrait drawing skills. It took four drawings before I had one that was close enough to paint.

Below are the various drawings and attempts at correcting them (tracing of photo superimposed on my drawing in Procreate) and the original reference photos.

The drawing and correction process
Reference Photos
Reference Photos (click to enlarge)