Working on Blue Textured Paper

Above is a closeup image of what's on my drawing table right now - a 16x12 colored pencil drawing on blue tinted paper. This is my first time working on this type of paper, a fairly textured blue tinted Canson pastel paper. I chose it for two reasons: because the subject is standing in front of a similarly shaded blue wall, and because I wanted to experiment with the paper texture to create the look of different textures in my drawing.

I found myself fighting the texture to create a smooth look for the skin on the face and hands, but it was very helpful in rendering the thermal shirt. I tend to spend the most time on faces and hands anyway, so this wasn't a big deal. To achieve a smooth look, I worked in several layers keeping the pencils very sharp at all times. I used fewer layers of color for the shirt, and worked more quickly so that the pencil didn't cover all of the depressions in the paper, resulting in a textured look.

Progress on Oil Painting of Boy Reading

I've made a second pass at the face, hair, and sofa in this photo. I am taking tomorrow off, but will tackle the hands, book and shoes next.

Work in Progress - First Layer

Pictured above is my first pass at a new painting. At this point, I've roughly sketched out the painting and covered the entire surface with paint. Many areas are lacking contrast, and I will reinstate dark areas and add more depth in the next pass.

On the Easel - "Winter's End"

My latest oil painting is about finished - I really tried to stand back and paint this from a distance to get the shapes, values, and colors correct. Winter's End, 16x12, oil on board.

Looser Oil Painting

I just started working on a new oil painting, and this is only a few hours work. It's very rough, but I am trying to focus more on getting the overall values and shapes right, and worrying about details later. This is 16x12 oil on board.

Small Colored Pencil Piece WIP

In between working on a larger oil painting, I have started a smaller (11x14) colored pencil piece, work in progress shown below. The pencil at the bottom is shown for scale.

I really enjoy going back and forth between oil and colored pencil because I find that I apply things I've learned from one to the other. I will post a photo of the oil painting soon.

Trying to Loosen Up...

I've been working on a new painting for a few days now, with the goal of using looser strokes to capture the important information of the subject while keeping the final result "painterly". I actually find that working in this way forces me to step back and squint a bit more, which is helpful to me because I can sometimes get stuck in the weeds and lose sight of the big picture.

I think I am going to take a little break before making the finishing touches. Overall a good learning experience!

More Progress on Self Portrait

I've done a little more work here... some of the items on the shelf are the same as in Self Portrait with Tea and A Second Cup.

Self Portrait Work In Progress

Here is a snapshot of my self portrait work-in-progress. I'm calling it "Self Portrait with Martini", a third piece in a series of works including "Self Portrait with Tea" and "A Second Cup". This piece is Prismacolor colored pencils on Fisher 400 sanded paper.

Oil Portrait ...

I'm putting the finishing touches on an oil portrait, shown above. This was a joy to work on - I loved the pose and expression. I hope to varnish in the next week and then get a high resolution scan.

Next I have a portrait commission in pastel, and then I want to do something in colored pencil. Working  in various media keeps me on my toes!

Almost Done...

I'll probably finish this tomorrow and get a scan sometime shortly thereafter.

Getting there

An update on my 20x16 colored pencil portrait (slow progress due to my working on it only about an hour a day!)

Highlights in colored pencil

Here is an update on my colored pencil portrait work in progress. In the past, I used many dark colored pencils for not only shadows, but also highlighted areas, using a light touch. For this portrait, I am using more light colors on the light side of the face, and finding the whole process a lot easier and smoother-looking. I just try not to go too light too soon, or else really bright highlights do not show.

Re-Learning Colored Pencil

I'm starting a new colored pencil portrait, and remembering a few things that I had forgotten - like reserving white areas and color mixing - very different from oil! I'm working on sanded paper so I can apply lights over darks, but the resulting color is always a mix of the colors used, so it involves a bit of planning. Luckily, I work in layers, so I have many opportunities to adjust value and color. Here you can see the underdrawing done in dark umber, and the beginnings of some layers. The earlobe on the left and the scarf are pretty much done, though I may alter them later after working on other sections.

Getting there...

Portrait In (Slow) Progress

I've made some refinements here, and toned down the chair quite a bit. I still have a lot of work to do, especially on the sweater, hands, chair, and minor refinements elsewhere. I'm working only about 2 hours per day, and only a few days per week on this one... so progress is slow!

New Painting in Progress

Here are two snapshots of a painting on my easel. I started with an underpainting using burnt umber and thinned out with turpentine (I use Shiva Signa-Turp), and then started painting thicker layers. I still need additional layer(s) of paint on the chair to tone it down and refine, as well as the socks, hands, sweater, pants, and maybe some refinements to the face.

Update on Work in Progress

This piece is taking a back seat to other projects (and taking care of the little boy in this portrait!) but I thought I'd post an update nonetheless.

Colored Pencil Portrait In Progress

Here's an update on my colored pencil portrait. Things are going very slowly, partly because I am only working an hour a day on this. I forgot to mention in my last post that this drawing is on regular paper, whereas I had been working on sanded paper for several of my more recent colored pencil drawings. In particular, I am working on Strathmore Bristol Vellum, which has a fine tooth texture. However, the grain does tend to show unless you really keep the pencil point sharp at all time to move in between all of the grooves of the paper. Personally, I get very lost in details if I work this closely (or slowly), so I just let some of the natural texture of the paper show. A few years ago I did a few pieces on Strathmore Bristol Plate, which is really smooth with an extremely fine texture, and I found that this gave a smoother look, though seemingly took fewer layers of color and was less forgiving.

Slow Progress in Colored Pencil

I've started a new colored pencil piece, and after working in oil for so long, I am surprised at how slowly I am progressing. I work in layers in order to achieve the complex yet subtle skin tones, and typically start in darker colors, working toward mid-tones, and finishing with the lightest colors. I repeat this process many times throughout the drawing, as needed.

Here are a few snapshots of my progress thus far. The first is the drawing with only dark umber. The next two shots have some red and blue added. In the final photo, I have decided to start working the mid-tones and lights one section at a time, and have done most of the work on the father's face.

My process is somewhat similar to how I work in oil in that I create an "underpainting" as the foundation for my drawing, but very different in how slowly I build color, and also because my initial drawing and underpainting must be more refined in colored pencil. In both, I tend to work very quickly throughout the entire process. I think people would be surprised to see me work - I don't slowly move the pencil or paintbrush carefully rendering details, but rather move quickly and intuitively, trying not to worry too much about details until the very end. The "mistakes" I make are corrected with each subsequent layer, and the overall artwork ends up looking realistic.