9"x12" Oil on canvas
Private collection, London, UK.
This is a portrait commission that I did recently, I had to work from a photograph that has more then one light source on the subject which is not so great to work from, but sometimes you have to make a compromise and learn something from it along the way.When doing portraits like this the likeness is imperative since the person that commissioned the portrait wants it to look like the actual person not like his neighbour or something.
Here are some shots that I took while working on it...
I start straight into painting, without any preliminary drawing, not for everyone unless you are sure of your drawing skills.I block in the big mass first and start from the left eye, this way I have a reference point that I can judge the rest of the shapes accordingly.
From the left to the right eye, the alignment of the eyes is the key here.
His hair is white as it can be so I have to put that white color there so I can judge the rest of my values against my whitest whites.
I add the desired background that I think its gonna work plus I can get some edgework done even at this stage covering most of the upper portion of the face...
These are just a few key frames from the painting process, maybe I'll do a video soon that will be more explanatory.
