Bentley is Progressing

Bentley is Progressing

I am still busy trying to organise my kitchen. It is important because I am getting a new puppy soon and I want everything to be hygienic for her. But I have been able to do some useful work on Bentley’s portrait. 

I have gone over the hairs where the dark and white meet on his head, and gone over the bits of his nose that were too dark. I used white and beige for that. It needs more touches of white when the paint has dried. Turner’s Acryl Gouache dries after 24 hours but the paint can be softened and lifted which is so useful at times for blending. I want clean flicks of white for the hairs so I will give it 48 hours. 

But tomorrow I will be able to work on his muzzle which had a wash of pale pink this morning. Also I will work on his nose which I dotted with beige this morning to bring out the texture. 

Girl in Profile Update

Girl in Profile Update 

The Girl in Profile is waiting for another tube of red paint that I have ordered today. 

I went over her hair again today but I think I will want to improve it tomorrow. I am still trying to match the subtle colours in her hair. It changes with the light. 

It is very difficult to be satisfied with a portrait. It reminds me of Maurice Quentin de la Tour, who was a very popular portrait painter at the French Court back in the Eighteenth Century. He worked in pastel and he was my inspiration when I first started painting portraits. 

He would deliver the painting then he would take it back to improve it. That sounds dangerous. It is so easy to overwork pastel.

I used to work in pastel but my latest paintings are oil on canvas. The canvas can be worked over without tearing holes in it. It is nice not having to be afraid of mistakes. 

Pretty Smile

Pretty Smile 

You will have noticed that I rarely give the name of my subjects. I am calling this girl Pretty Smile to protect her privacy and because she reminds me of my daughter-in-law who also has a beautiful smile. 

I was stuck on Pretty Smile’s hairstyle until I asked my hairdresser for help. I promised to give an acknowledgement of Sue’s help. I don’t know what the hairstyle is called but it is plaited right round her head and then tied in a big bow behind.

I have been struggling to match the colour of her hair. There are so many shades of brown. I decided on burnt umber. Now I must get the lighting right, and then I can glaze the light areas with thin strokes of the dark colour until it has the right texture. 

Her face is still monochrome brown ochre (Rembrandt oil paint) and I will add a pink blush over her lips and cheeks soon.

Now while the paint dries on this one, I am going to paint a bit more of Walter.

Brighteyes

Brighteyes

This portrait of a little boy, in oil on canvas, is coming along nicely. 

I started to paint his blonde hair full of different shades. I was mainly using gold ochre and raw umber. The hair was fairly dry by this morning so I thought I should put in the highlights. Then I had an idea to make the colour more subtle by mixing in transparent white. I had never used transparent white before. It is definitely different from ordinary white oil paint. So I painted transparent white over all his hair and I am leaving it to dry to see what happens.

Talking of hair, after I put him on the picture shelf to dry, I took down the portrait of his girl cousin who has an elaborate plaited hairstyle. I didn’t take a photo of her portrait because it hasn’t yet got sufficient nose or mouth to stop her looking like an alien. I don’t want anyone to see her looking like that. 

I was puzzling about how to paint her hair, when I remembered that my hairdresser was coming today. So I left the girl’s portrait on the easel and my lovely hairdresser, Sue, explained how the hair should look in my painting! I hope to post the finished result next week.

I am so lucky with the technical help I am getting with these portraits.