A Slightly Different Approach ... or ... Carmella the Second

Reference photo

My sketch

First washes of aureolin and quin. burnt orange

Looking mighty weird at this stage ... EEK!!!

Many more glazes, and starting to look like a yellow lab

   First, a minor grump about the poor registration of the darks, especially browns and blacks, with camera and computer. That done, I'll continue.

   I've been reading a book by Elizabeth Kincaid called "Dance with Light". Her paintings, mostly florals and still-lifes,  capture quite a quality of luminousity. Her technique involves glazes of pure pigment ... no mixing. So I thought I'd give it a try. I must say it is a bit more involved, especially planning what color glaze on top of several others will give the color you need. And it was very strange, at one point, glazing the nose with GREEN! But the depth and colors you achieve make the process worthwhile. I must admit I "cheated" with my blacks, using my favorite combination of quin. burnt orange, quin. violet and indanthrone blue. And I will be doing the grey areas on the face with a mix of aureolin, quin. coral and indanthrone, but that will be it for mixes.

   The actual painting has more depth, of course, than the computer image, but I am wondering if Miss Carmella doesn't need a very soft and nebulous background to show her off better. What are your thoughts? And what do you think of the pure color glazing?

I am here

Carmella Continued

I think this is where I left off yesterday.
Taken in morning light.

Taken with flash
Some detail work around tongue/mouth.

More color around mouth.

Afternoon light.
Still working around mouth.

Very distorted color and value with flash.
All colors are placed [not at finished value]
except for chain and dog tag.




 

   I must say I am quite excited about how this portrait is coming along! The last photo I took [at night] does it NO justice whatsoever. But it's getting late, it is very hard to paint with blacks at night, and I am working as a dental hygienist tomorrow. So, off to bed!

Evolution of a Yellow Lab ... or ... Miss Carmella Will Need More Time than I Thought

I started off with a fairly detailed sketch.
This is on 13 x 18 inches.

I've done the first VERY light washes of aureolin & quin. burnt orange.
The watercolor paper is 15.5 x 22.5 inches.

I had to get the eyes done, so somehow it looked a bit like a dog.
The nose has several glazes done, the tongue 2 or 3 washes, and
I have started putting in washes of a grey for shadows.

 

More intensity all round, and I found I needed more aureolin on the neck and chest. 

I took this photo in morning light today, and primarily posted it
to show the effect of different lighting.

Here I am now. And it's 11:15 PM ... time for bed.