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In the Studio This Week – Portraits and Learning How to Drive (Again)

In the studio this week, I was focused on a couple of portraits, but also distracted by trying to resolve my traffic citation from the accident I was in nearly three weeks ago. I decided to take the Defensive Driving course and that way the wreck wouldn’t show up against my driving record. It was a painful process and like learning to drive again – fifty-three years after taking Driver’s Education in high school!

Charcoal Portrait

The lesson for a charcoal portrait from the Mastery Program called for doing a charcoal portrait with a live model. Not having a live model readily available, I decided to use the reference photo I had used for a previous painting I did a few weeks back. I thought if I did it again in a different medium, I would have better luck replicating the portrait. Here was how I painted her in oils. I can see her mouth is too big/too close to her chin. I might work on this again at some point to see if I can correct some of the errors I see.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="2560" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2870-scaled.jpg" alt="Oil painting portrait of a oung woman looking straight ahead" class="wp-image-5496" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2870-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2870-225x300.jpg 225w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2870-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2870-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2870-1536x2048.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" />

I think the charcoal portrait below turned out pretty well, but still isn’t a true replica of the model. She does have a personality, though. I find most every portrait I do begins to talk to me at some point during the process.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="2560" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2898-scaled.jpg" alt="Charcoal portrait of a young woman" class="wp-image-5497" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2898-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2898-225x300.jpg 225w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2898-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2898-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2898-1536x2048.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" />

Alla Prima Oil Portrait

The next portrait lesson was supposed to be done Alla Prima meaning a painting technique in which a canvas is completed in one session. Again, this was intended to be done using a live model. Not having a live model, I chose to paint from a photo of my daughter.

I did NOT complete this in one day. In fact, I agonized over it and probably overworked it in the end. Here’s the first go-round:

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="2560" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/72022568505__6096366A-A133-4963-AD18-BFE1C9885471-scaled.jpg" alt="Oil portrait of a young woman wearing glasses" class="wp-image-5499" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/72022568505__6096366A-A133-4963-AD18-BFE1C9885471-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/72022568505__6096366A-A133-4963-AD18-BFE1C9885471-225x300.jpg 225w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/72022568505__6096366A-A133-4963-AD18-BFE1C9885471-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/72022568505__6096366A-A133-4963-AD18-BFE1C9885471-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/72022568505__6096366A-A133-4963-AD18-BFE1C9885471-1536x2048.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" />

I worked on correcting issues with the proportion around her nose, mouth, and jaw. It’s better, but her mouth still isn’t quite right. I’ll probably need to do a portrait of my son soon to complement this one.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="768" height="1024" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2910-768x1024.jpg" alt="Finished oil portrait of a young woman wearing glasses" class="wp-image-5500" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2910-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2910-225x300.jpg 225w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2910-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2910-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_2910-scaled.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />

Halloween

Since Halloween was on the horizon, I thought I’d do a quick portrait of the character Maleficent using some of the techniques I learned in the Kaleidoscope class. I wanted to put a raven on a limb beside her but quickly saw that I didn’t leave enough room, so I added the cartoon-style bats. This was done with acrylic paint on watercolor paper.

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="819" height="1024" src="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/BA2C1DFD-D3BC-4E1A-8564-195D438780FB-819x1024.jpg" alt="Whimsical painting of the character Maleficent in front of a full moon and flying bats" class="wp-image-5501" style="width:600px" srcset="https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/BA2C1DFD-D3BC-4E1A-8564-195D438780FB-819x1024.jpg 819w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/BA2C1DFD-D3BC-4E1A-8564-195D438780FB-240x300.jpg 240w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/BA2C1DFD-D3BC-4E1A-8564-195D438780FB-768x960.jpg 768w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/BA2C1DFD-D3BC-4E1A-8564-195D438780FB-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/BA2C1DFD-D3BC-4E1A-8564-195D438780FB-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https://create4today.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/BA2C1DFD-D3BC-4E1A-8564-195D438780FB-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px" />

Takeaways

I like portraits and have done many in the past. I like to see faces turn into personalities as I paint or draw. I don’t always get the proportions correct and that affects the ability to capture the exact likeness of the model.

I think I prefer to do whimsical portraits or portraits from my imagination.

Thank you for reading about my progress and let me know what you think.

By the way, I did learn new information from taking the Defensive Driving Course such as the proper way to set your mirrors and that you should keep your thumbs in a vertical position on the steering wheel because that would limit the injury to your hands in the event the air bags deployed. I am now certified as a Defensive Driver!

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