Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:00 PM |
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Emily - A Portrait Demo
Emily was supposed to be a WIP (Work In Progress), but when I started
on this project I suddenly realized the difficulty of doing a portrait
watercolour as a WIP when I wasn't sure if I could successfully pull
this off. I thought of all kinds of reasons why I couldn't do this
project. I put this away, cleaned up my studio, washed my brushes,
cleaned up my palette, took inventory of my mat board - anything but
actually start. Anyway, here is a step-by-step demo more in the shape
of "How it was done" rather than a "How-to do it".
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:01 PM |
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Preparation
My first step was to scan the photograph into my computer and make a
B&W, for tracing purposes and to help with my tonal values. My next
step might irritate some impatient types who prefer to plunge in and
splash some colour about as soon as possible, but beginners might want
to consider the benefits of planning your painting before the colour. I
literally write down the sequence in which I will approach my project.
Here is my tentative schedule:
1) Misket hair and body
2) Put in green background
3) Put in blonde hair wash on whole face and arms. Leave eyes and teeth white.
4) Misket blonde hair on face
5) Put in eyes
6) Put in hair using negative style painting (Leave darkest shadows)
7) Put in nose, cheeks, and arm textures. (Leave darkest shadows)
8) Put in shirt using Holbein W213 "Opera" colour. (Leave darkest shadows)
9) Remove facial misket on hair.
10) Complete shadows on hair and face.
11) Complete shadows on shirt.
This is not a rigid schedule and I departed from it as the need arose,
but it was a framework to prevent me from wandering off into some fun
parts without painting ahead of my brain.
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:03 PM |
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The drawing
The drawing came first of course and I made this a little more dominant
than I intended but I kept the detail fairly limited. On a really
detailed painting I will often partially erase the original transfer
marks and re-draw the image if I wish to modify anything. I rarely do
portraits so I haven't built up much experience I can draw on when it
comes to how much pencil guidance I might need. A child's face is
particularly difficult I think, as there are few angles or points of
reference to work from. In retrospect I see I made trouble for myself
with the left eye, but more on this later.
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:03 PM |
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First masking and misket
I first put in my misket around the body, face and hair, and then put
in my background colour. I used Sap Green with grey made up of Antwerp
Blue and Brown Madder. I used a clean wash of water first, then when
almost dry I applied the wash stronger than normal to compensate for
the wash. I worked some wet-in-wet to loosen this up a bit. You may be
able to detect some paper damage just under the right eye and nose
bridge - I've no idea how that happened but I was afraid this might
pose problems later on.
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:05 PM |
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Using a mat early on
At about this time I always try to introduce the mat so I can sort of
cheer myself up as I proceed with a painting. It helps you assess how
the developing image will look and it makes a great deal of difference
to your attitude to the project. I keep the mat close by and use it at
every stage. It doesn't make a better painting but it makes you THINK
it's a better painting! And at times you need all the help you can get
- right?
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:05 PM |
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First skin and hair wash
This scary looking close-up shows how I applied the first skin wash,
leaving the eyes a and teeth areas white. You'll note I used the same
basic skin tone over the hair as it seemed to be a good fit. I used a
mixture of Cadmium Yellow deep, plus some Raw Sienna and a touch of
grey made up of Antwerp blue and Brown Madder. I thinned this down of
course. Now you can see the damaged paper I mentioned earlier.
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:07 PM |
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Putting in the eyes.
When I do a portrait I always try to get the eyes in as soon as
possible. By now I was so engrossed in actually doing this I forgot to
note my colours, but I will remind beginners to misket out the eye
highlights. Eyes will vary from person to person, but the eyeball is
not flat. It is also translucent so you'll need to work wet-in-wet
sometimes. Now I'm beginning to notice I'm in trouble with that left
eye. What to do?
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:07 PM |
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Masking the eye
I wanted to see if I could make the left iris slightly smaller to
correct what I thought was wrong. I cut out a piece of white paper and
placed it in position, then I tuned the painting upside down to see if
it looked in better balance. Having decided it did I then borrowed a
little dab of my wife's acrylic Titanium white and made the change.
(Well - nobody's perfect!)
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:08 PM |
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The hair and face
I was having so much trouble with the delicate colours in the face and
hair I simply forgot about sequential photographs. I just couldn't seem
to match my pallette to the soft ash-blonde hair on Emily's head. I
started on sequence 7 and 8 of my written schedule, but bobbed back and
forth as I worked simultaneously on the hair, the eyes, the nose and
the colourful shirt. I realized that shirt was reflecting bright lights
back into the face and was influencing my choice of skin colours, so I
quickly blocked it in. I had no idea what I was doing and I must freely
admit I was lucky I didn't wreck this early in the game. Beginners
please note: as well as technical skill you need luck once in a while!
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:09 PM |
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A close-up
Here is a close-up as I tried to portray the subtle curves and features
of Emily's face. I've darkened the blonde hair a little by putting on a
light wash of grey made from Antwerp Blue and Brown Madder. Then I did
a bit of negative painting to make the hair look more
three-dimentional. Note I had already been in ahead of this to misket
out some hair so it would stand out later. There was quite a bit of
blue in the face so I gingerly put that in.
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:10 PM |
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Stumbling along to the finish line
I forgot all about sequential photographs after this stage so I have no
clear idea how I came up with the final result. I just painted up a
storm, drank copious amounts of tea, and did the best I could with my
limited experience with watercolor portraits. The damaged paper
didn't cause too much trouble after all. I never did really capture
Emily's lovely soft ash-blonde hair nor the likeness I'd hoped for, but
I did the best I could.
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Watercolour lover
Posts:54
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| 11/10/2007 12:11 PM |
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Now try one yourself?
If you've never attempted a portrait in watercolour, don't be
discouraged by what seems beyond your capabilities. If you feel you
can't capture a whole face, try just the eyes or the lips. Make a start
and the results may surprise you. Will you share your experiences with
the rest of us?
John
www.watercoloursforfun.com
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sandeep.khedkar
Posts:439
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| 11/10/2007 10:53 PM |
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Hi
I have not tried a portrait since a very long time. Your demo is very good.
Sandeep |
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slh399
Posts:40
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| 03/24/2009 7:10 AM |
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Thanks for a lovely and informative demo. I learned a lot: especially the fact that I'm not yet ready for such an undertakin. But you did inspire me! Great Job, Sir!
Suz |
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"You can never erase a spoken word.... |
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Priti
Posts:700
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| 03/24/2009 7:55 AM |
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| Thank you for this demo, - you make it look easy and i know that it is not. |
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Priti
http://priti-fine-art.blogspot.com/ |
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intcede
Posts:65
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| 03/31/2009 12:44 PM |
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| Wow! There are so many good tips and instructions here for a portrait. I've never done a portrait in watercolor, so this is like gold to me. Thanks for posting it. |
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tami
Posts:183
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| 03/31/2009 10:06 PM |
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What a darling! I so enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing your progress.
Loved your website and your artwork! |
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