Tag: Gouache Portrait

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Art Faces Gouache Painting People Portrait

Gouache Portrait of Taylor Kinney from Chicago Fire

Taylor Kinney as Kelly Severide from Chicago Fire on TV,
Gouache on paper 9×7”

I know, this was a silly project. But there’s something about this guy on this show that I find intriguing in an odd sort of way. So I painted him in gouache.

I have no idea what he’s like in real life, but it amuses me how on the show he always has this derpy, slightly perplexed expression, like he isn’t quite sure what’s going on around him. Also that when he started on Chicago Fire he played the angry bad boy and now he plays a kindhearted husband and friend (while still doing all the badass fireman stuff.)

I find it interesting that he was once Lady Gaga’s boyfriend. It’s a little hard to picture them together. She’s such a powerful persona.

Chicago Fire and Chicago Med are both dumb, guilty pleasures I enjoy. My usual TV fare is Britbox European detective shows and Nordic noir.

Taylor Kinney as Kelly Severide on Chicago Fire, gouache portrait
Reference snapshot from TV
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Art Faces Gouache Painting People Portrait

Brian from Police IT Department: Gouache Portrait

Brian from IT, Gouache on paper 9×12”

His name isn’t really Brian. I took a photo of him from the TV screen when I watching a European detective show on BritBox because I found the colors mesmerizing.

I don’t remember which show it was, but he was the sweet, smart guy who could always be relied on to find the solutions on his computer. Even though most of those European detective/police procedural shows follow a similar formula, with a similar set of characters (like the sweet IT nerd guy), I still thoroughly enjoy them.

Photo reference from the TV

It was challenging but fun to draw and paint from the above photo reference. I really wanted to capture his sweet expression and the vivid colors. It took me 4 drawings and then starting over after abandoning a painting before I was satisfied. I had such a great time with the headphones! But I got lazy with his shirt and left off the plaid because I was ready to move on.

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Art Faces Gouache Painting People Portrait

Grumpy Old Brit Character Actor

Portrait in gouache of old British male character
Old Brit Character Actor, Gouache, 10×7”

My last painting of 2024 is this gouache painting of a British or Irish character actor from one of the great detective shows on BritBox (but I forget which one).

I tried to do a Google reverse search from the photo I took from the TV (see below) to learn his name but it failed, giving me everything from Donald Trump (?!) to an advertisement for tweed jackets. Do you know who he is?

After dong a couple sketches it was time to paint. I was inspired to use gouache instead of oils because I hate the way my oil paintings almost always end up taking forever and feeling overworked while I try over and over to perfect it.

I don’t do that with gouache, I get more carefree, playful and have fun. It had been nearly a year since I used gouache and it felt like I’d forgotten everything.

This was my get-reacquainted with gouache painting and I’m excited to start the next one, also a still from a TV show.

Who am I? Reference screen still from TV
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Art Drawing Faces Gouache Painting People Portrait

Big Forehead Guy and Erupting Volcanoes

Big Forehead Guy #2, Gouache, 10×7.5”

I used a limited palette to paint this guy twice. I based the one above on the colors I’d seen in a run around erupting volcanoes on Zwift. I also painted him using the original blue colors of the reference photo below.

Zwift is a virtual world/video game that you move through based on your speed and effort on a spinning bike or treadmill (see screenshot below). My limited palette was Indigo, Napthol Red and Cadmium Yellow Pale.

A scene from my run in Zwift’s Whole Lotta Lava route

I thought he’d be fun to draw, with that prominent forehead and strong jawline and he was. I also painted him using a limited primary palette of yellow, red and blue, trying to get colors close to the reference photo (below).

Big Forehead Guy, #1, Gouache, 10×7.5”

About volcanoes…when I was a kid I had a reoccurring nightmare about being on an erupting volcano with Little Lulu and Tubby, characters from my favorite childhood comic books.

Below is the photo reference, my sketches, correction checks (photo tracing over sketch in Procreate) and the painting starts.

Photo reference
First Sketch
Comparing 1st sketch to photo
Second Sketch
Portrait paintings in gouache of a guy with a big forehead.
Blue painting start
Red painting WIP
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Art Drawing Faces Gouache Painting People Portrait

The Restaurant Critic

Restaurant Critic #2, Gouache, 10×7.5”

I saw a photo of this restaurant critic in Berkeleyside, an online local newspaper, and immediately wanted to paint him. I made several drawings, trying to get a likeness. And then I painted him twice. Above is the second painting; below is the first.

Restaurant Critic #1, Gouache, 10×7.5”

I think his expression shows my frustration rather than the serene smile you can see in the reference photo here. Below are the drawings, which maybe captured his expression better than the paintings.

Critic Sketch #1, 10×8″
Critic Sketch #2, 10×8″
Painting start

My drawing practice had been left behind over the months I worked on an oil painting that I ultimately abandoned. I was rusty at both painting in gouache and drawing but you have to start where you are, so that’s what I did.

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Art Drawing Faces Gouache Painting People Portrait Sktchy Sktchy

Nate W. in Grey Hoodie

Nate Washington in a grey hoodie, painted in gouache.
Nate Washington in gouache on paper, 10 x 7.5”

Nate Washington (IG link) is a comedian and podcaster who shared his reference photo for this portrait on Sktchy, here. (Except Sktchy app is now called “Museum”)

Karl Staub (IG link), the teacher who used Nate’s photo for his demo did a very graphic, poster-like rendering (see below). I was tempted to do that too, but decided to just continue with my own style instead.

Nate Washington in a grey hoodie, sketched in pencil.
Nate W. in pencil, 10×7.5

Above is my original sketch for the portrait. I had fun finding the planes on his face and clothes. Below is a screenshot for the 30 Faces/30 Days – Watercolor & Gouache class on Sktchy displaying the teacher’s work.

This was supposed to be a 30 portraits in 30 days class, but I think I’m now on month three instead. That’s because since last December I started working out every morning, doing indoor cycling, rowing and running classes plus daily core classes and alternating days of weights, yoga, Pilates, and Barre and two hikes a week with friends. I paint in the afternoon.

I’m getting stronger and fitter and having fun. But it’s always a challenge to find balance between all the things that make up a good life. I’m very fortunate and grateful for the luxury of the choices I get to make.

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Art Drawing Faces Gouache Painting People Portrait Sktchy Sktchy

Forest Bather in Gouache

Bennett P from Sktchy in Gouache, 10×7 inches

I really enjoyed painting this calm, pleasant young man amidst the trees, seemingly bathing in the cool forest light. You can see his original photo reference on Sktchy here.

I started with a pencil sketch on copy paper. Then to check my drawing, I compared my sketch to the photo by scanning my sketch into Procreate with the original photo. On a new layer I traced the photo with a red line and layered that over the sketch (see below). Using the red lines as a reference, I corrected my original sketch on paper, transferred the sketch to watercolor paper and then painted.

Bennett’s reference photo was part of the Sktchy “30 days in Watercolor and Gouache” class taught by Mike Creighton, one of my favorite Sktchy teachers. I thought it would be interesting to share his painting; such a different feel from mine!

Mike Creighton’s gouache painting

He used a limited palette and did a lot of mark making with his brush. I know the idea of the Sktchy classes is to try to mimic the teachers in order to learn a variety of different approaches and techniques, but I almost always end up taking what I like and then going my own way.