360 degree Rotating Canvas Attachment.

360 degree Rotating Canvas Attachment

I have bought a 360 degree rotating attachment for my easel which you can see above. It took me a while to work out how to attach my reference photos close to the portrait. I was looking in all those places that one puts one’s household bits and pieces for hooks and things, and I found some Command Strips for hanging pictures. That inspired me to use them to hold a piece of plywood in place. I can clip my reference photos to it. You can see it works well. 

I think Jet wanted to get into the photo. He likes sitting on my painting table. The challenge is to keep his tail out of the wet paint. 

I knew for some time about this attachment for an easel so a canvas can be rotated. But I didn’t know if it would fit my easel. I have a rotating drawing board cum table easel that I have set up in my bedroom and I have been using it for years for drawing and painting in acrylics. However it won’t hold a canvas and there’s nowhere to set it up downstairs. 

Once my exhibition is over I have an acrylic portrait of a dog to finish. It is particularly useful to have a rotating easel for painting an animal’s fur because of hair being linear. It will be nice to paint Bentley downstairs. 

Brighteyes is nearly finished. His clothes look blotchy because it is the undercoat, and I concentrated on covering the canvas quickly. Now he is going back onto the picture shelves to dry. I have a dehumidifier working to speed it up. 

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.

Walter 2

Walter 2

I did a lot of work on Walter today. I have blended his far eye, undercoated his chin and neck, and started on his scarf. I have made a change from my reference photograph. He had the strap of a bag around his neck. You can still see part of it in the sketch. But I decided it wasn’t doing anything for the portrait so I am painting neck there instead. 

I still haven’t painted his moustache! And his mouth looks odd but I know what I am doing. Don’t worry!

I am sorry this is such a short post. I have been busy with other things this evening.

Girl in Profile

Girl in Profile

I have been enjoying painting this portrait of a girl in profile in oil on canvas. She has a very elegant nose. 

I have a bit of a thing about noses. Blame my mother for that. She had a slender Roman nose and she was proud of it. She would tilt her head and show it off, saying she was glad she didn’t have a snub nose. In case you are wondering, I have a cross between her nose and my father’s and I am very happy with it.

I took a lot of reference photos of the girl, but I had to reject all the full face ones because she had her eyes screwed up against the sun. 

I have finished the girl’s face, and last time I worked on the portrait I started her clothes. I would have liked to paint her hair, but I have to wait for paint to dry because I will need to rest my hand on her face and I don’t want to smudge it. Obviously. That is why I only painted the left side of her jacket. I don’t want a red hand when it is time to work on her portrait again.

I still have to finish her neck and paint her hand, which is resting on the back of a chair. They will wait until after I have finished her hair.

Lady in Sunglasses 2

Lady in Sunglasses 2

The Lady in Sunglasses is beginning to show her lovely friendly character. 

You may be thinking that I have indicated her eyes, but I can’t see her eyes at all in the reference photograph. I can only see myself and my camera reflected on the lenses and I am not going to paint that.

No, she hasn’t got a big earlobe. That will become her earring. 

I am still working on 10 portraits at once. I paint a bit more on three or four paintings a day. I have to rest my hand on the canvas because my arm and hand are weak due to polio. That is why I paint from the top left to the bottom right so I don’t smear the oil paint - except when I do it on purpose of course. If I need to go back over a higher part of the painting, I have to leave it to dry for a day or two. 

Meanwhile, I am ready to set up my next 10 portraits. There is a portrait of a deerhound calling to me ...

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.