Chapter Two... Making Eye Contact!

When I start a portrait I almost always begin with the eyes. It just helps me 'get in the mood' of the portrait and I do like them 'looking' while I paint :)

Often the eyes are very small in a portrait but in this one I have plenty of room to develop them. I like to take my time when painting the eyes  and will often have long gaps in painting while I just look at what I have done and work out whether I need to make adjustments.I don't usually put in the eye lashes until later but I needed to really get a feel for the eye direction so this time I have added them in lightly at this early stage.

It was especially important for these eyes that I get them focusing down at the worm. Its amazing how the direction of sight can change when the pupil is even just a millimetre too far left or right or up or down so you just have to keep working away at it until you get it right.

At last.... two eyes looking at one worm, or at least looking at the space where the worm will be :)

Next  I will work on developing the rest of the facial features.

Ona

The Bookworm.... Chapter 1

....Since this painting is a fun one based around the theme of books it seems only right that each WIP  post is a different chapter in the painting's story. So here is...Chapter 1

The idea for this painting began a couple of months ago when I was looking through photos of Alex for the 'Time Warp' painting. I came across a very funny one focusing in on his face which I knew immediately was a painting in itself.

 In the actual photo he was posing with a new book. The humour and mischief was just brimming out of his eyes and his quirky smile just made me laugh. I loved the photo but it was very much a snap shot with distractions in the background and not very good lighting so I decided to accentuate the lighting and focus in on his face and down to what he was looking at.

This photo of me putting the finishing touches to my drawing and the title of this post will hopefully give you an idea of what is coming out of the book :)

Its drawn out on a full sheet and Alex's face, being a big section of the composition, is much larger than life so this should be a lot of fun to do :)

I Hope this first chapter has got you hooked  and you will want to follow along :)

Ona

Time Warp WIP 4

I have really enjoyed painting the biggest portrait over the last two days. I still have some defining to do on the far ear and to paint in his eye lashes, eye brows, and facial hair, but its great to now have that  mischievious face looking at me as I paint. He just seems to set the mood of the painting and this will hopefully help me bring out the fun element in the other four portraits too.

 

A long way to go yet but its beginning to take shape.

Ona

Time Warp WIP 3

It`s a good feeling to have finally finished the clock section of this painting and I`m now really looking forward to starting the portraits...  I`m longing to do the big one :)

 I have kept to a really limited pallette so far, mostly using the golden/orange/brown quinacridones with the compliment ultramarine blue to create the greys. I will need to add in and strengthen the shadows on the clock cast by the portraits as I develop them but this is easier to visualize once the portraits begin to take shape.

 Ona

Time Warp WIP 2

 Its taken a while to paint in all the cogs and the numerals on the face of the clock. I still have all of the clock rim left to do in the background but as a whole its beginning to take shape.

I feel as if I'm in a bit of a time warp myself as I work my way round the round the spiral each time I paint a section. Its great as it begins to come to life though and the flat paper becomes more 3D in look.

 I'm really looking forward to the stage when I have finished the clock and can begin painting the portraits.

Ona

And all Because......

...one of the pieces of music I used for my slideshow was called 'I believe I can fly' and as I listened to it over and over again while I was putting the slideshow together, an idea for a painting popped into my mind.

My daugher Rebecca has been learning to fly  this past summer. Her tuition is on hold now over the winter months but she is looking forward to the spring again when she can complete her training and finally be able to fly solo. She seems so young to me still,  but I know she is growing up fast. She is so full of ambition and motivation to succeed. Its wonderful to see.  You know the saying 'the sky's the limit'... that is certainly true for her. I didn't want to put her in a glider for my painting though because I also wanted to encorporate the more imaginative side of her personality into the portrait too.

She is just like me in that way...she has such a vivid imagination so it was easy to get her 'to believe' in my idea for the reference photo shoot.

" Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!"– Dr Seuss

.... so I placed a chair in the middle of the basement and a  fan beside it, gave her a summer dress to put on and told her to sit on the chair, feel the summer's breeze through her hair and imagine she was on a swing high in the sky, above the clouds. 

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.  ~Henry David Thoreau

yes, I know she only really had the floor to look at, and a chair instead of a swing but  her imagination could fill in the rest and hopefully my pencil and brushes can bring to life what was in her mind. (fingers crossed)

The outline is drawn onto watercolour paper and stretched on a board. It is another big one... I just couldn't resist it. Its 24 by 33 inches.

Ona

Double Portrait WIP

I am progressing well with the painting. I decided to create a traditional dark studio style background. This was a challenge because I am using hot press paper. I glazed multiple layers of colour to create a mottled effect and had to wait nearly 90 minutes between layers for the paint to totally dry before rewetting and applying the next glaze to avoid creating a muddly mess. Once the background was complete I then started to underpin the facial features of mom and daughter. They both look a funny colour at this stage but the skin tones are yet to be added. At least they are starting to look recognisable.

Ona