Tell me a story

Footprints in the Heart 9x12 pastel, copyright 2013

This fall I decided I would give portrait painting a serious try for the first time.  A year and a half of Life Drawing session had given me some confidence, and I had the perfect photo to work from.  Or so I thought.

As I started working, it became more and more obvious that the photo was not the best choice to use.  It was grainy, the lighting wasn't great, and the angle of the face was unusual.  However, this mimics a lot of situations for commissioned portrait painting, so I just went with it.  Four months later I have come to conclusion that I just don't have the patience to be a commissioned portraitist.

Don't get me wrong, I'm quite happy with how it turned out, but the path to get there was long and frustrating.  It was erased and wiped and reworked and overworked and erased again so many times that I had to walk away and let it sit on several occasions.  I have gained huge admiration for portrait artists, they have the hardest job in the art world in trying to make everyone happy!

Some of you will recognize the subject of this painting, but others will not.  The reason I chose this particular image is for the story it seems to tell.  Like Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (not that I can even compare myself to Vermeer!) a good portrait should tell a story - or let the viewers make their own stories.

Portrait attempt

Study of a Redhead 12x16 pastel, copyright 2011

Wow, portraits are hard!  This one started out as a portrait of my daughter, based on a sketch done during Life Drawing last week.  After hours and hours of working, erasing, and reworking, I finally gave up trying to make it look like her.  The only thing I kept was the hair.  I wonder if it's easier to do a portrait of someone you don't know as well.

A stop at Lake Ontario

Clean Hands  6x6 oil, copyright 2011
NFS

A brief moment of sunshine, the first in almost a week, allowed me to finally get a decent photo.  The redhead and her hat return to the water, this time in Lake Ontario.  Between Niagara Falls and the 1000 Islands region, we stopped at one of the many state parks along the lake shore.  It has become a family tradition to make a sand castle on every beach we come to.  So far this has included three of the five Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.  After building is completed, hands must be washed free of sand - my daughter came up with the appropriate title.

The hardest part of this one was getting the ripples right.  They were painted and wiped several times before they finally seemed right.  I've tried a few other scenes with water this past week that haven't turned out as well.  Ripples and waves and reflections all conspire to make a very challenging subject to paint.

At the Lake

At the Lake, Memorial Day 6x6 oil, copyright 2011
NFS

Went back to late May for this one.  A cool dip in the lake sounds inviting in the extreme heat we've been having this week!   Over Memorial Day weekend, the family headed out to a man-made lake in eastern Ohio where my parents have a small cottage.  Boating, fishing and swimming took up most of our time.  

Close to the cottage is an area for launching boats, and swallowtail butterflies gather at the edge of the water to drink up nutrients from the mud.   My daughter tried to see how close she could get, but they all took off at her approach.  I tried painting them flittering around her, but the painting is just too small - they came out just as blobs.  

I think this is the first time I have painted a figure in oil.   Slowly it's sinking in that careful measurements before painting make a big difference in the end.  And I have to add, that I am loving her hat - I think that might make a few more appearances in the future.