In portrait watercolours, I usually start with a pencil sketch, then when I am satisfied that I have a reasonable likeness, pick out the main features with a very fine pigment pen, erase the pencil, then lastly shape the facial contours using the paint in layers. Mostly with women I soften the layer edges for a smooth complexion, but here in this male painting, thought it better to leave the edges fairly sharp for a more rugged appearance. But the one thing I have learned with pen outlining is to be very careful with the mouth, as lines around the lips look very unnatural.
Summing up, this is one painting that I feel happy with, though comparing it with the source photo, some things could have been done better, but I got immense pleasure from the whole exercise, which I guess is why we keep doing what we do!
Source photo
In the scanned image here, pen lines show up more than in the painting.
Oh Frank ! ... this portrait is so good ! I am amazed .... you have a very unique style.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alice, you are so kind. I'm working fairly small on them at the moment, with a page size of 10"x7" which I guess means I can finish them properly before my interest wanders!
ReplyDeleteWow frank! This is fantastic! So good of you to share the step-by-step process with us too. I think if I had to paint a portrait of a man with facial hair - I would have to ask him to shave first!
ReplyDeleteLOL Sandra, I don't think I'll ask you to paint me then!
ReplyDeleteOne of our group has done this on an ipod or something like that, and drawn every single hair and whisker. While it looks good, I don't think I could go that far - there's enough with just the suggestion of hair with the pen and form with the paint I think.
This is Terrific Frank! really love the eyes, they keep drawing my eyes to them. Thank You for sharing your methods too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sheila, I would never want to keep my methods to myself if I felt that someone else would benefit from them.
ReplyDeleteIt's often difficult to tell eye colour from photographs as it can get very dark under the eyebrows - maybe these are too blue. When I was at school, there was a huge oil panting of our benefactor, William Hanbury, in the large hall. I don't know how he did it, but the artist had painted the most piercing eyes that always seemed to stare at you no matter where you stood in the hall!
This portrait is fantastic! You are so good at painting fresh, clean and quick - it's inspiring. Thank you for the info on your technique too, I'll have to try it again!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the complement Cecca, I'm humbled to think that I could be 'inspiring'! Good luck with this technique if you try it, I am currently experimenting with wet in wet, so maybe another blog in the making.
ReplyDeleteAfter I finished my Arxigene sketch I was looking around at some of the other work. I came to this one and said to myself, 'that's the way I should have done it!' Thank you for writing about your process; I enjoyed it. And thank you for your constructive criticism. I do appreciate getting it!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Raena. I am always wary of leaving criticism on anyone's work as I would hate to upset them, so usually keep criticism down to the minimal. However, if you don't mention to people where you think their work is going wrong and tell them that it's all beautiful, I don't think it is helpful at all, and puts the artist under a false impression that they are doing great.
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