Watercolor portraits

patrickart wrote

on 26 Dec 2009 6:34 AM

sharon

yes i enjoy doing water color portraits. i would like to do better works, however i am still learning.

here is my last work from life

Sharon Repple wrote

on 26 Dec 2009 8:37 AM

Very good, I remember seeing your work now.  I've always been amazed that you do watercolors from live models and you paint the whole body not just the face.  Keep up the good work. I like your paintings.

Lynn Powers wrote

on 26 Dec 2009 5:22 PM

Thank you. You just named one of my favorite current portrait artists! I also like Ted Nuttall and Jan Kunz.

I use 40 lb. hot press Arches. I've not done anything for about a month because of the holidays but next year.... and Wow to you Patrick! How large is the original? Very nice over all warmth. I think a bit of softening the left side of the models face (our right) with a transition value will help the facial curve back into the hair a bit  more.

Here's to time to paint in 2010! Happy New Year everyone.

Lynn

patrickart wrote

on 26 Dec 2009 5:45 PM

lynn 

that was a 20 x 28 size paper. i agree about softening the edge of her face. i ran out of time. it was only an one hour pose. models dont come cheap these days. i could take a photo of the model and finish the painting from the photo. however thats not what makes me happy.

thank you for your comment. happy new year and happy painting.

BethB29 wrote

on 30 Dec 2009 7:18 AM

Lynn,

I really love this portrait.  i am also a big fan of Janet Rogers as well as Charles Reid's work.  You did a wonderful job!  

I am at the beginning my adventure into the worlds of watercolor and figure/portrait work.  I would love to see more of everyone's work.  Who knows, maybe I will even post some of mine as we move into 2010.

Happy New Year!

Beth

Lynn Powers wrote

on 3 Jan 2010 12:47 PM

Hi Beth,

Thank you and Happy New Year. This is, I think, my best "head" to date. I'm trying to figure out my style and I drift from juicy to very controlled. I think I like juicy.

I hope in 2010 to take a serious stab at figuring this out. Earning a living gets in the way....

Lynn

Lynn Powers wrote

on 3 Jan 2010 12:50 PM

Looks like I haven't gotten this attachment thing figured out. I'll try again...

Lori Woodward wrote

on 3 Jan 2010 12:58 PM

Lynne, what a stunning watercolor! Maybe you've said earlier, but what kind of paper did you work on?

I envy your ability to be free with your brustrokes and yet come out with a well drawn painting.

Lori Woodward wrote

on 3 Jan 2010 1:08 PM

Sharon, I got busy and realized that I never answered your question about which colors I use for WC portraits.

I usually start out with a glaze/wash of raw sienna over the entire face and skin area. Then I let that dry completely. MId range shadows are done with raw sienna/alizarin.  Then the darkest darks are either burnt umber with a touch of alizarin and ultramarine blue.

I shy away from using blue on skin because it makes people look dead. If I need to go cooler, I use purple (very lightly), or if it's a shadow area, I mix just a touch of viridan with burnt sienna.

I use 300lb cold pressed paper so I can stay as light as I want and put a gazillion glazes on. It's helpful to keep in mind that you can always go darker, but if you need to go lighter, you'll have to scrub, and scrubbing removes the sizing of the paper and makes it pill. When I scrub on 140lb, the sizing disappears fast, so I can get away with a bit of scrubbing when I use 300lb paper.

I'm working on a watercolor portrait right now for the spring issue of Watercolor, so these things are fresh in my mind. I almost blew it half way through the demo because I had to scrub out the eyes and repaint them. It turned out though and I'm trying very hard not to touch what I did today. Sometimes I get to be too much of a perfectionist, and I go too far and ruin it.

Lynn Powers wrote

on 3 Jan 2010 1:10 PM

Thanks again. I simply use hot press, arches 140 lb. I don't stretch it because it takes too much time... but the last one I tried I was fighting the buckling way too much. I may have to add stretching paper to my routine. I like hot press because I can lift colors. But I paint on a very vertical surface so it's difficult to get dark darks. The pigment tends to run down the surface and create a middle value. Sometime I almost paint with a cream like consistency.

When I was listing the artist I like I forgot to add Burt Silverman and Al Zerras. There are so  many... I think they paint on a more horizontal surface. But their darks are fantastic and I love how they float opaques.

Lynn

valeriemalley wrote

on 3 Jan 2010 2:29 PM

Very nice !

Lynn Powers wrote

on 3 Jan 2010 5:11 PM

Thank you. I apologize for the image being so big. I tried twice to make it smaller, and thought I had,  but apparently I'm technically challenged.

Lori, I really like the feeling you've captured with your portrait of the girl. It's like a wonderful memory of someone. It's very soft with a wonderful color palette.

Lynn

Sharon Repple wrote

on 3 Jan 2010 8:35 PM

WOW, Lynn, I love everything about you latest post.  Absolutely beautiful.  I think you've got it!  The white of the paper you left on the face/beard is so skillfully done.

Lori, thanks so much for your color choices. I have also heard not to use blue in the shadows or say the nostril area. I like the idea of using purple in the shadows. Some artists suggest glazing with layers of your original skin tones until you have the desired darkness.  Can't wait to see your new article, they are always very good and written so well for artists to understand.

Margo5 wrote

on 3 Jan 2010 9:00 PM

Nice, loose portrait painting. Love the colors.

Antonin2 wrote

on 4 Jan 2010 11:54 AM

wow ! you guys ! nice portraits !