Formal Portrait: Business Portrait, Part 3

The hardest part about a portrait like this is setting down the paintbrush and walking away. There are so many aspects of it that I want to study and analyse. For now its time to let it "rest" for a couple of weeks and then come back and look at it with fresh eyes. Adjustments will be made then for the final completion.

David P. Kunstle
30 x 24, Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson

Stage 6: Blocking in the hands with a first layer of paint. As with everything else, I try to look at the hands as shapes  instead of palms, thumbs and fingers, squinting my eyes to generalize form, shadow and light.  For me, painting hands can become very mental. Fear often sets in and then I freeze up, questioning every step of the process. And then I start talking to myself. "Trust your instincts. Remain calm and keep painting!"

Stage 7: Completing the hands and pants. After the hands I focused on the pants. This was a perfect time to paint them since my wet edges would work right into the fresh paint of the hands and blend much easier.

 Stage 8: Blocking in the background. I looked at the background as one piece. I started from the top and worked my way down placing the first layer of paint as precisely as I could so that my second and final layer would be easier.

 

Stage 9:  Completing the background. While the first layer was still wet I kept going and added the details of the second and final layer. I wish you could see it in person. Right now the paint is very wet and so it was hard to photograph clearly. Please check my website in a few weeks to see the completed portrait.

Formal Portrait: Business Portrait Part 2

Squeezing blue and white oil paint onto my palette and then brushing it on the canvas to make it look like fabric is always more challenging than I first imagine it to be. Working wet-on-wet, it was time to paint the dress shirt.

Stage 5: The underpainting. Blocking in the shirt and tie.The draping of clothing over the human form is always a challenge.  If you don't get it right, you know it. The folds and creases have to be believable. I tried to break the shirt down into general shapes and values while brushing the paint on with broad strokes.

Stage 5: Completing the shirt. Using thicker paint I paid close attention to my brush strokes and edges, adding detail but not too much detail. Now its time to let it rest. Next, the hands. 

Formal Portrait: Business Portrait

My painting this week began with a formal business portrait. I love the variety of work that I do and welcome the challenge of a traditional oil portrait.

Stage 1: The composition. I photographed my subject in his office which had northern windows. Perfect lighting. We started with a series of shots with his full suit on but after a while the suit jacket came off and we transitioned to a more relaxed  casual pose. With a thin wash of oil paint mixed with mineral spirits, I drew his image freehand. I try to use some of the same techniques I would use if I were painting him from life in my studio; broad, swift strokes in the beginning with more detail in the end once I am happy with the composition.

Stage 2: The underpainting. At this stage I am still using the thin wash of paint with my focus on form, light and shadow.

Stage 3: The second layer. While the underpaintng is still wet, I apply the second, thicker layer of paint with every effort to accurately depict his likeness, the correct light, color and shadow. Brush strokes are also important.

Stage 4: Completing the face. Even though I know his face is probably not exactly the way it will be in the end (there are always small adjustments), I can sleep at night knowing that I have his captured his likeness and his pleasant expression. It is time to move on to his dress shirt and tie.

Performance Painting: Geri's Memorial

Every once in a while I receive a special invitation to paint at a funeral or memorial service. My invitation this time came from a family who is grieving the loss of a beautiful woman who's life exemplified the arts. Creating art was not something she just did, it came from within. And so her loving spirit and vibrancy for the arts became the focus of the service. I was blessed to take part in a sacred experience of painting for her friends and family as they honored her.

Art has the power to touch people in a unique way. If I were to have a conversation about art therapy, I would have to include performance painting as a new but valid avenue for facilitating the healing process. Even though the audience is not creating the art, but seeing it created, that visual experience can be emotionally therapeutic. With each brush stroke it goes beyond entertainment -- reaching out to bring comfort, encouragement and peace. 

Painting the background: I usually have 20 to 30 minutes to do a complete painting (in front of an audience) that starts with a blank canvas. This time though, I was given 10 minutes of painting time on stage with the understanding that I would paint the background before hand. I painted this ocean/beach scene in my studio. With my composition plans in place I came ready to focus entirely on the subject's image.

Transformation
40 x 30", Acrylic on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson (c)2014

Painting A Dog Portrait: Skeet

"Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace."
                                                                                                                            - Milan Kundera

Skeet
10 x 8", Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson (c) 2014

Stage 1: The drawing. With a thin wash of mineral spirits mixed with burnt umber, I used a #2 brush to paint in the lines (freehand) of Skeet.

Stage 2: Blocking in the underpainting. With a larger, #8, filbert brush, I blocked in this first layer of paint, paying attention to the shapes without the details. And then I started the background.

Stage 3: Painting the background. With lots of thick paint on my flat brush, I lavishly applied the blues and touches of brown to the background. 

Stage 4: Completing the painting. Skeet had a lot of fun features to paint. Plus, there was drama with his white hair around his eyes and snout. I used plenty of paint to enhance his tousled hair but really, Skeet is a character all unto himself. To see him is to love him.

Cat Portraits

"A cat has absolute emotional honesty; human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not." Ernest Hemingway

I enjoyed meeting these pretty kitties just a few weeks ago. Their owner, Colleen, and I were not sure how it would go. We were both thinking it might take more than one visit (just to get to know me a bit) before they would be willing to "pose" in front of my camera. Just the opposite happened. Instead of running underneath the nearest chair or couch, they both remained relaxed and relatively still. It seemed as if they understood all along the purpose of this visit. With some nice back lighting from the living room window, Klowee and Kalli Kitti looked and me and waited just long enough for me get some nice reference photos for their portraits before they moved on to more important matters.

Klowee
8 x 10", Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson

Stage 1: Drawing Klowee with a thin wash of paint.

Stage 2: Blocking in the first layer(underpainting). After choosing my colors I used a large brush to lay down the paint in the basic shapes.

Stage 3: Final layer. While the underpainting was still wet I came in with the top layer of thicker paint to add texture and detail. I started with the background so that blending the edges would be easier. After the background I painted the eyes and then moved on from there until she was completed.  Painting Klowee's whiskers was so much fun. 

Cat Portrait No. 2: Kalli Kitti

Stage 1: Drawing in Kalli Kitti with a thin wash of paint.Since I do this freehand I have a cloth that I use as an eraser to wipe away any unwanted lines, making adjustments as I go.

Stage 2: Blocking in Kalli Kitti with bold colors and contrast.

Kalli Kitti
8 x 10', Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson

Flower Painting: Painting Irises

I noticed these dramatic irises when I was looking over my daughter's fence at her neighbor, Howard's, garden. Howard very kindly welcomed me to come over any time and paint in his back yard. I didn't have the luxury of taking my time. This was the end of the iris season.

Ruffles
10 x 8", Oil on canvas
Rita Salazar Dickerson (c)2014

Stage 1: The composition. Drawing the flowers with a thin wash of paint. I tried to take my time here so that my focus for the rest of the painting would be on color, values and brush strokes.

My set-up for this painting was quite simple. I borrowed a couple of plastic chairs from my daughter, Megan, put a blanket over Howard's nicer one so that I didn't get paint on it, and then set up my easel and palette. It was mid-day; the light was overhead and didn't change much.

Stage 2: Painting the flowers. I adjusted the chair with my easel so that I had a clear view of the flowers to the right of me.

Stage 3: Completing the flowers and background. I had less than a couple of hours to work on this painting and so there was little time to stop and take photos. It was hot. Spiders and ants kept crawling on me. I was having fun but was ready to be done. 
Every time I paint  plein air, as uncomfortable as it can be sometimes, I am always glad that I did it. There are so many things to learn when I paint outside, in natural light, with a clear plan and focus. If you haven't tried it, I hope that you do. Or, if you have but haven't gotten out yet this year, the time is now. It doesn't have to be with paint. Pencil and paper will do.