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First time trying oil paints
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Message
Posted
I've not tried a portrait in oil yet, so I am a bit reluctant to comment. It's looking good though. The only thing I would say is that I would pick out the highlights on the lips.
I've been battling with a portrait with a 3/4 portrait (on the forum) , from the same view, with the main light coming from the same direction which definitely has its challenges. I'm trying to get the light from two different sources to be of different colours, which often looks good. I've also been looking at the National Portrait Gallery shortlist today for ideas. One of the 3 shortlisted is in Acrylic and done with multi layers of glazes. It is stunning and I would not have thought it possible with acrylic, as this technique is usually associated with oils.
Posted
I think this is excellent as a first foray, and actually it's pretty damn' good for a more advanced painter. I like the way you've exploited the thickness of the paint to get the details of the clothing - that's what real painters do! It's a very Rembrandt-esque touch. The mouth - mouths are difficult; while people say the life of a portrait is in the eyes (and certainly a dead-eyed portrait is no use to anybody) it's the twist or angle of the very expressive, malleable mouth that either gives you a likeness or takes it away: remember Rolf Harris painting the Queen - he took the portrait home and observed "I've made it look as though she's sneering at me" (which she well might have been, but that's another story). I don't think there's much wrong with it, and I think in your place I wouldn't fiddle with it this time, but in your next portrait make the upper lip (generally) a little darker in tone than the lower, and just define the shape of the mouth with a line of dark paint - and be careful, because that's exactly where even a very experienced portraitist can lose it by being just one millimetre out.
Posted
Hi,
Thank you Margaret and Splosh for your kind feedback, I will have a look at the National Portrait Gallery shortlist you mention. And good luck with your portrait Splosh.
Robert - thank you so much for your feedback, I am extremely flattered. I have not read up on oil painting techniques at all, so anything I did right is a happy accident. I did use a slightly darker shade on the upper lip, but you are right it could do with being a little darker still. I am going to resist temptation though and leave well-ish alone. When you say 'define the shape of the mouth with a line of dark paint' do you mean between the lips where they are open or around the outside of the mouth? Sorry, it would just be great to be clear on this before i attempt another one.
And why had I been terrified of oils for so long? I think it was the thought of all the mediums etc I felt you needed to use, as well as my lack of understanding that you could just use them fairly thickly in one go instead of having to build up lots of layers (sorry, i don't know what the correct terms are!), while I love the look that can be achieved with layers of paint, i don't think i will ever have the patience to wait for each layer to dry, so one thick layer (impasto?/wet on wet?) it is for me.
I love that the paint stays malleable for a long time, and I don't know if it's the correct way to work, but i found myself doing a large proportion of my colour mixing on the painting itself. I also really like that, for me anyway, I will never be able to get a painting in oils to be overly accurate to the source material which stops me from trying to achieve anything close to photo realistic, lets something beginning to be my 'style' to hopefully come through. You should have seen me though, when ever i got to a 'scary' bit of the painting, I was mumbling to myself 'it's just light and shade', 'it's just shapes', 'it's just colours' ;)
One last question, i don't currently own an easel, so i either paint on a flat surface - which i find is easier to control my marks, but esp as i am left-handed i found i kept on accidentally touching the wet paint on the canvas with the side of my hand. However, if i propped the board up against the wall and tried to paint that way, i found my mark making much less easy to control and it all just felt a bit awkward. Is an easel a necessity/worth investing in and something that just takes a bit of time to get the hang of?
Thanks again, Lucy
Edited
by Lucy22
Posted
Thanks AG, no children here, but two cats - and i know what you mean, i have it all in the spare room with the door shut but i'm still almost expecting to go in and see it covered in paw prints and cat fur.
I'm going to leave the painting be for now, but thank you for your feedback, it's on a fairly small board (for me anyway) 6 by 8 inches, i think next time i will try and work a little larger which may help me get some of the key details right.
Lucy
Edited
by Lucy22
Posted
Lucy, between the lips - outlining them would make the mouth look painted on (which of course it would be, but that's not the impression you'd want to give). You don't need any kind of continuous heavy line, just a touch or two - look at good portraits (there are plenty of bad ones!) to see how delicately it needs to be done: my favourite portrait of the Doge of Venice will show a good example, although the painter there (Bellini, I think) used a very different technique to that commonly employed now. Portraits by Lucien Freud, Hockney, Daphne Todd, Kyffin Williams (there aren't that many of those but they're all bursting with character) will give you a good guide; and of course - use live models when you can; what you want to avoid is guessing how physical characteristics work - have a good hard stare at set lips, parted lips, smiling mouths, grim mouths, downright irritable mouths (keep your model waiting and fail to offer refreshments..) ... I'm sure it'll all come together because you have good instincts.
Posted
Oh, the easel - addressed elsewhere, but yes: I think an easel is an essential item for painters in opaque media: if nothing else it keeps the picture surface stable, and holds it at a height where you can see what you're doing and step away from it to get the broader view: just don't step on the cat.
Posted
Thanks Robert, that's what I thought you meant :D I haven't heard of Kyffin Williams, I have a quiet day tomorrow so I'll have a look at all of those artists. I'm also going to see if i can find a class near to me that does portrait work with a model. And thanks for the advice on the easel - I think i'm going to go for a table-top one, so the cats will be safe for now!