Head study (12.10.17) with process

Portrait study (12.10.17)

2017

Oil on linen

50 x 40 cm

Close-up, and process shots below:

Painted from life at the Thursday night sessions, about 2 hours (7:30 - 9:30pm).

It's back to basics again. I decided to revisit carefully what Solomon J Solomon taught in his oil painting book, especially the seemingly simple process he demonstrated: 1) Brush drawing, 2) Mid-tones, 3) Shadows and lights painted into the wet mid-tone, 4) Finishing.

I'm still a little fragmentary in my tone, as you can see I have problems gradating the tone from the distinct jaw shadow, to the lower-cheek.. it's still quite choppy, even more apparent when photographed. 

Before I started the study, I wrote on my palette: Primacy of Drawing! Primacy of Tone. Gradate the lights. Also, at the starting stage, don't be lazy, use a fine brush to outline as many key points as possible- the mid-tone will be painted right into their borders. Then when painting the mid-tone, resist the temptation to variegate too early. The more simple the means of expression, the more powerful it is.

I cut down on the use of the painting medium. Too slippery/wet a surface makes it hard to scumble sensitively. But I still over-used the medium in the dark side of the face, making the adjustment of colour there difficult (there is this warm to cool transition I could observe, but somehow difficult to paint).