From time to time I’m asked to paint a portrait of someone’s dog (or horse or… well… just about anything). Usually, I paint these portraits in acrylic, but since I’ve been making myself get used to my oil paints I decided to take a chance and work in oils. At this point, the painting is just beyond the “block-in” stage and I’m quite happy with it so far. Next, I will probably smack in the background with some large loose brushstrokes… probably using some neutral to warm hues. Then add some strategically located detail (not too much!). Finally, tweak the colors… usually bumping up the intensity a bit… and done!Monday, November 2, 2009
A Good Start
From time to time I’m asked to paint a portrait of someone’s dog (or horse or… well… just about anything). Usually, I paint these portraits in acrylic, but since I’ve been making myself get used to my oil paints I decided to take a chance and work in oils. At this point, the painting is just beyond the “block-in” stage and I’m quite happy with it so far. Next, I will probably smack in the background with some large loose brushstrokes… probably using some neutral to warm hues. Then add some strategically located detail (not too much!). Finally, tweak the colors… usually bumping up the intensity a bit… and done!
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3 comments:
Jim, it sounds as if you have a different process when you're using oils - no sign of your "focus squares" here! Can you tell me how your technique differs with oils and why you adopt a different approach?
This is lovely right at this stage and if they were my dogs I'd say 'STOP RIGHT THERE!'.
Isn't oil lovely?
Inkwell - Thanks for the kind words! :)
Peter - Yes, there is very little similarity to my oil and acrylic techniques. With oils, I work on the entire painting as a single unit... very fast... fairly loose... trying for that single perfect brush stroke that records all the desired information.
In the past few years, I've made a point to become more diversified as an artist... learning new techniques and mediums.
Perhaps this is a topic I need to address in a future post...
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