This is the second post for today so after you read this you will want to be sure to look at the one just under this. On Sunday afternoon the first of six portrait painting sessions was held here at my house in the four season room at the back of the house. There were five students. A few weeks ago we joined together for a get acquainted meeting so that I could explain exactly what to expect from this class. I wanted them to know that this process is tedious but fun and that it is different from how most portrait artists work. Also I wanted them to understand that a six week class will not allow them to produce a fully complete and perfect painting. But it should manage to explain the process. These ladies all have a driving ambition to produce portraits of loved ones, friends and just any figure they choose. Most impressionist teachers have not provided the kind of realism they have been looking for. Everything came together for these particular six women and I am really looking forward to working with them.
Monthly Archives: January 2016
catching up 2
Here is the work I did today. I will say that I have spent a lot of time with technical problems today. First I sent a message on e-mail and just as I was ready to send it, it disappeared. Now as I am trying to blog, somehow I touched the wrong thing and my computer totally shut down. So now I am trying to communicate with you all and I hope I am not sounding too frustrated. I will download the work I did today. Look at the child on the right. Doesn’t it look odd with only her ear in a more developed condition. I really enjoy watching things turn from flat to alive almost. There is still a lot to be done. I am going to publish this and then try one more post.
Just a short blog
This has been a business day, you know, writing notes, balancing books, depositing funds, sending my brother a birthday card that should have been in the mail two days ago. The rain came in around one o’clock and justified my misery. I did not sleep until after two last night and today has been, well, I’m whining so I’ll stop. Only meant to say I didn’t get any painting done. Even so, a lot of other things got done that have been waiting for me and those things are an accomplishment. Bruce is going to build a fire where I will snuggle up and soak up its healing and restorative energy after we have eaten our dinner. I have homemade Salisbury steaks in the oven and they smell so good that when Mollie stopped by on her way home to Meadville, I gave her one for her supper.Bruce and I will add garlic Rosemary roasted potatoes to that with a veggie and afterward I wills pull a fresh blueberry apple pie from the oven and top it with vanilla ice cream for desert. Why should I complain about anything? God blesses us daily, no matter how bountifully, it is all blessing. May you all count your blessings as well.Shabbat Shalom, Diana
Getting the expression
If you compare the last image with this you can see the changes and deepening flesh, even though we have not yet added any color. People ask me how I get the flesh to look so real and not like plastic. The directional brush work, the layers and the sensivity to light are the things that lead to the correct result. When I teach my methods, one of the things a student must develop by natural instinct is the touch. I can demonstrate, I can explain, but the technique is something one must come by naturally. It is such a joy to experience the emergence of the attitude and personality in a portrait.
Refining the grizaille
I don’t know if you will be able to see this well but today I spent some time refining the likenesses. I look at the preliminary work and make a lot of visual measurements, especially if something seems off. It may seem easy or it may look as though it was easy, but when an eye or a smile line or any shape at all is off by just a little bit, it just doesn’t add up right. This is especially important with the character and expression or what I call the spirit of the sitter. These two little girls are both cuties but they each have a special personality and this image shows it. I want this work to be wonderful, an image that everyone will enjoy looking at.
Diana Williams Portraits 