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Painting big!
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Message
Posted
Thank you all for your comments, they have really kept me going. It is not finished yet. Painting big also makes the errors bigger, so seeing it up close, I cannot leave it. The atmosphere in my studio/conservatory has been so damp that not even acrylic has dried properly, so it is having 24 hours in the warm as am I! I’m sure the board was absorbing moisture like a sponge. Perhaps I need to seal the back of the board too?
Posted
The board being MDF, I think you said? I presume you sealed the edges, as well as the front? That's where the damp gets in. Would it help to seal the back .... well, it wouldn't hurt; MDF is prone to damp, because it's porous..... maybe a coat of shellac? At the best of times, it's hard to find a perfect surface for painting, and at this size more difficult still. The weight must be a problem too, depending on the thickness - there are better choices available, eg an aluminium composite, the snag being the enormous cost. Stretched canvas prone to damage, other surfaces prone to warping and damp - not made easy for us, is it...?
Coming off the fence, yes, sealing the back probably would be a wise move, getting the painting out of a damp environment even better. As everyone is telling you, it's a fine piece of work, an ambitious project, and you'll have learned a lot from doing it (one of those things being a lack of any desire to do it again - I wonder though if having done it once, you might have developed a yen to do more at this size; you could find yourself in demand!).
Posted
Thank you Robert for the advice, which has confirmed my suspicions. The back will be sealed, whatever the composition is. It is just as well that it is relatively light. If it had been very heavy or if I had started with oils, I would never have turned it over.
Regarding the size, It made the drawing phase a lot easier and more enjoyable - moving my arm rather than my wrist. Also easier to get a likeness as the size of error is likely to be the same on large or small - so the error will be proportionally smaller on a large image.
I have been trying to do a bit every day, no matter how small, despite having flu in the middle of the process. Ant Knight’s advice in this respect is spot on.
Posted
More progress! I have done some tiny twiddling to get a better likeness - widening the bridge of the nose and details around the lips and beard. Also I have done more work on the folds of the sleeve and jacket, which still doesn’t look right to me. I might have finished now, but there are still options to put in more jewellery and /or a hand holding a “Respect” torch,but there is still the possibility of mucking it up completely.
