Portrait of a Little Boy

When it was time to photograph two year old CJ for his portrait I wondered if he would get the significance of what we were trying to accomplish. Turns out, he did. Maybe it was the crisp white shirt (that soon crumpled and folded under his constant movement) and the large camera lens pointed at him. Or perhaps it was his older sister's oil portrait already hanging in his home that helped CJ understand that it was his turn. Regardless of the reason, CJ slowed down that sunny morning and followed instruction. I took tons of photos while he rested on that rock -- taking in his surroundings.

CJ loves the outdoors and rocks (throwing them is a favorite pastime.) And so it seemed appropriate that both of these elements would be a part of his portrait.

CJ
20 x 16", Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson

Stage 1: Painting the contour lines. I painted CJ's image with loose contour lines using a mixture of Ultramarine Blue and Transparent Earth Red thinned with mineral spirits. My biggest challenge at this stage was to slow down and study him as I worked on his features.

Stage 2: Starting with the eyes...Once I felt like I had his likeness I began painting the eyes, the focal point in this portrait.

Stage 3: Completing the face. After the eyes I moved on to the rest of his face. Because the back lighting from the sun is slightly to his upper right, I realized that everything on his left side is slightly darker in value.

Stage 4: Painting the shirt. I started his shirt by blocking in the darker shades of blue resting in the folds and creases.

Stage 5: Completing the shirt. Once the darker values were in I began filling in the rest of his shirt with lighter shades of blues, purples, yellow and even some shades of pink.

Stage 6: Painting the shirt and hands. When I was at a good stopping point with the shirt it was time to move on to his hands and blue jeans. Keeping the variations of the edges is important and it helps to work wet on wet.

Stage 7: Painting the hair and ears. I started this step by painting in some of the background so that the outer edges of his hair would be soft. Working with wet paint makes this step so much easier.

Stage 8: Painting the background and completing the painting. I used a palette knife to apply some of the paint in the background. It helped create a rough and rugged feel of the rocks. I then used a brush to move some of that paint around and blend the colors together.

When the painting was at this point, I left it alone for about a week and then came back in and reworked pretty much everything. (Taking out some detail, adding color, removing too much color in places, changing values, softening some edges...it's all part of my process.)

Portrait Of A Little Boy: Grant No. 2

This week I am attending the annual Portrait Society of America Conference near Washington D.C. It's a time to gather with hundreds of like minded portrait artists, nationally and internationally, to listen, learn and be inspired. I'm loving every minute of it. Tomorrow will be another full day, but before this day ends, I want to share another portrait that I completed before I left my studio.

I was asked to paint little Grant's portrait twice. Every painting presents new challenges regardless of who the subject is or how many times I have painted him. I enjoy it all.

Grant
20 x 16, Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson (c) 2014

Stage 1: Sketching the figure with a thin wash of Burnt Umber and mineral spirits.

Stage 2: Painting his face.

Stage 3: Painting the shirt. Grant's blue shirt was striped but before I could add that detail, I blocked in the solid blue as well as the blue underpainting of his pants and his mother's skirt.

...and then added the stripes in a lighter blue value.

Stage 4: Painting his hands. One of the endearing aspects to this composition is Grant's hand holding on to his mother's. This creates a connection that speaks of love and trust between a mother and son. The mother then becomes part of the story in this painting by the gentle presence of her hand.

Stage 4 continued: I blocked in Grant's hand that was linked to his mother's.

Stage 5: Completing the hands.

Stage 6: Blocking in the background with solid shapes of color.

Stage 7: Completing the background.

Portrait Of A Little Boy: Grant

After painting Adele's portrait, Grant's was a completely different palette of colors. His beautiful blue eyes and golden hair complimented his blue shirt. As I did with Adele's painting, Grant's background was a nod toward the season he was born in. Autumn. Grant is a lively two year old who is always on the go. I wanted this portrait to portray his energy and enthusiasm for life.

Grant
14 x 11", Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson (c) 2014

 Stages 1 and 2: Drawing and blocking in. After loosely painting in Grant's features with a thin wash of burnt umber mixed with mineral spirits, I began blocking in the eyes and then the face, adding hints of color as I went.

Stage 3: Completing the face and hair. After his head was completed I blocked in Grant's hands. In this initial stage, my focus was on getting the proportions accurate. When working from reference photos it is important to remember that the camera lens will exaggerate and disproportion limbs that are close and far away.

Stage 4: Painting Grant's hands. I painted just a small portion of the shirt to make sure I had the color correct next to his skin and then used that same blue in the highlights.

Stage 5: Painting the shirt. When painting a shirt with a pattern such as this, my goal is to give just enough information to portray that it is a striped shirt without making it too busy and distracting.

Stage 6: Painting the background. Though I wanted the background to hint of autumn, I didn't want it to distract from Grant. I had background reference photos to pick and choose from and so I chose just a few of these simple, tall grasses painted softly into the golds and browns.

Portrait Of A Little Boy II, Part 9

Little boy blue...

Portrait Of A Little Boy, II
24 x 18", oil on canvas

Rita Salazar Dickerson

Stage 9: Painting the background and completing the painting. Sometimes it seems like it takes longer to complete the last couple of phases in a portrait than it did to do all the previous stages. The paint is still wet so this photograph is not as clear in areas (where there is glare) as I  would like it to be for this post.

After painting in the background of sky, trees, grass and soil, I realized it was time to go back in and re-work the color and values on his face, hands and feet. I also softened edges, added more contrast to his shirt and jeans and blended the color and values in his hair.

This Little Boy Blue was fun to paint! 

Portrait Of A Little Boy II, Part 7 and 8

A sunny summer day, bare feet and little boy in blue jeans. Perfect.

Stage 7: Painting his blue jeans. When his mother chose these clothes for his portrait I was glad. I knew, with his blue eyes, dressing him in in the same color would be ideal. Plus, I could tell he was very comfortable dressed like this which helped him relax for the portrait.

And then there was the slide...

Stage 8: Painting the slide. Adding the slide to the composition added color, contrast and a playfulness to the painting. He was so happy to sit and smile before he let go!

Portrait Of A Little Boy II, Part 6

Using blues and pinks I painted ten little toes...

Stage 6: Painting ten little toes. I thought I would be able to do the feet and his denim jeans during one painting session, but more often than not it usually takes longer that I imagine when planning my painting goals for the day. In the end, I blocked in the jeans so that the edges would work well with his feet for painting wet-on- wet.

Portrait Of A Little Boy II, Part 5

Stage 5: Painting his arms and hands. Although they are not finished, I am now at a resting point with his little arms and hands. I love the fact that he is playing with his round pink toes; tomorrow I will finish painting them!
Each brush stroke brings me closer. Even though there is still so much to do, I am beginning to get a good sense for where this painting is going.

Portrait Of A Little Boy, Part 6

Portrait Of A Little Boy
14 x 11", Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson

Session 6: Painting the shirt. I like his original shirt which is a plaid but decided to simplify the pattern quite a bit to keep it from being a distraction to the rest of the composition. The stripes are still interesting and the blue color enhances his eyes.

Its time to let this painting rest for a couple of weeks and move on to the next one. I will be making adjustments after I can look at it again with fresh eyes. This little guy is so enjoyable to paint!

Portrait Of A Little Boy, Part 4

Stage 4: Ears and hair. Adding light to his hair was the reward at the end of my day.

Portrait Of A Little Boy, Part 3

Stage 3: The mouth, face and neck.  

Portrait Of A Little Boy, Part 2

Stage 3: The nose and face. Even though neither the nose or face is complete, it felt good to get some colors mixed and begin figuring out how I want to apply them.

Portrait Of A Little Boy

Portrait Of  A Little Boy

Stage 1: Using a reference photo I free handed his image with a loose wash of Transparent Earth Red thinned with mineral spirits. My goal was to be as accurate as possible.

Stage 2: The Eyes. He has his back to the sun so his face is in the shade which makes his blue eyes look a bit darker.

Detail of the eyes.