A Palette Knife Portrait

Oil on Gessoboard, 11x14"

Last Friday, I taught a class on portraiture, and I gave a demonstration on how to set up and draw the foundation of a portrait.  After the drawing was in and the shadow areas were mapped out, I wanted to show the class that finishing the portrait can be very interpretive and fun.  As long as we follow the drawing and shadow/light areas that have already been established, anything goes-- even paint applied thickly with a palette knife!

"Jack As A Young Man", 12x16"

 "Jack As A Young Man"

"Claire"

In addition to painting en plein air once a week this summer, I am painting from models in Bill Schneider's studio.  I'm considering this time as sort of a mini-camp, to sharpen my observational skills and broaden my horizons.  Everyone in our little group has something to contribute, from a new outdoor vista to try, to introducing a new model to our group.  

Jack is the son of a friend of mine, and when I met him for the first time I thought that I would love to paint him.  He is that wonderful age somewhere between boyhood and manhood, and we all loved the challenge of trying to capture that moment.  Claire is a Barrista at Starbucks, and her coloring and translucent skin were lovely to paint. I told myself not to fuss with her portrait too much, leaving it loose and impressionistic.

Richard the Second

Richard came in to sit for us again last week, and I developed his portrait a bit further.  I'm glad that I took the time to put more thought and detail into his face.  In the first sitting, I covered large areas of his face with broad brushstrokes of color.  The second week, I went into these areas and broke them up with shorter strokes of new color.  I think it gave him more dimension and a more lifelike appearance.