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Though many of my paintings are built up in layers, others
are painted more directly.
Such was the case with this painting where I wanted to keep the colors bright
and clean
and to emphasize the brushwork in some areas. In order to emphasize the
evening light
and the warm highlights playing against cool shadows, I limit my palette
more than usual,
emphasizing the primary colors: Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Medium,
and
Cadmium/Barium Red Vermillion Hue. For variety in the cool shadows I add
a warm and
a cool purple: Cobalt Violet Hue and Ultramarine Violet. I use no black
and limit my
earthtones to Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, and Raw Sienna, all of which were
used
sparingly. My color list is concluded with Titanium White.
After staining my canvas with a warm earth yellow and letting
that dry,
I transferred my prepared drawing to the canvas. I began painting the figure
first, since it is the focal point of the painting. The rest of the colors
and values
would then be judged for their effect against the figure. Below you will
see
four images showing the progression of the face.
I begin with light washes of earth tones to mass the shadow
areas.
Personally I find that this helps me to relax a little as I begin building
the heavier paint.
This is basically the same method as I use when painting in layers, I'm
just not waiting for
the stain to dry before building onto it and these washes are in the family
of color to
be overpainted. You will see how the color of my wash changes as I begin
roughing in
the dress.
Next I begin to paint the colors and values that I desire
for the finished
painting, starting with the darkest shadows and working toward the lights.
As I work I begin to paint some of the background color
in order to
work my edges wet into wet and keep them soft.
I continue to build the darks to their desired level before
moving into
the light areas. Since I started thinly, I can now build thicker paint as
I proceed. As I develop the form, I make changes by adding more paint
rather than by moving the paint around on the canvas. This helps to keep
the color clean and the brushwork fresher.
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