Today I decided that I was going to try one more portrait in the same style as Sarah's. I need to prove to myself that I can do this well then perhaps I can move on. I like portraits, I love seeing the person come to life, it may not be very post modern but it sure is satisfying.
Process: Well it started with finding an image of Nick, my son, that held some of the same characteristics as Sarah's photo did. The criteria was that it had to be full of life, show aspects of his personality in his expression, have a visually appealing background with lots of textures to play with and have movement. Well...... four hours and thousands of pictures later we have a winner.
Then I printed in a few different sizes and got a transparency made at the printers. Then I rounded up a projector and projected the image on the the canvas. I spent about thirty minutes trying to get the image to the size and composition that I liked. I really like the process of using a projector because it is a quick and easy way to play with composition. I really wanted the sandy feet and spray of sand but I needed to make sure I gave him enough head room.
Then I lightly traced some of the main lines in the composition no real facial features just stop and start points.
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| from the projector |
When I was done I noticed Darcy smothering her work with something that looked like modeling paste. Ah ha! I had just bought myself some expensive painting mediums to try. So I decided to play with the paste on the canvas to get some of the textures of sand and in the log. This was fantastic! Kind of like sculpting a little. When the modeling paste dried (waiting was excruciating!) the next day, I could begin to paint! I love using watercolour techniques with the acrylic on canvas to start and I love to paint by wiping out the highlights.
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