Took a bit longer to do this one due to the number of layers of glazing required for the hat. Reclaimed a canvas that featured the portrait of a special woman (who hated her portrait). So it was either i.) paint over it or ii.) hang it in the furnace room.
Oil on canvas. Canvas prepared with two coats of acrylic “gesso,” one coat of Gamblin Oil Primer. Ground was then toned, painted with an ugly portrait which was obliterated with a mixture of Raw Umber and Flake White. Embedded as usual with cat hair.
Palette and Supplies:
Sketch in Pencil.
Background, dress and some of the darkest features and shadows painted with Mars Black. Lazy on my part. I know I should never be using black but rather mixing all of the primary colors together to achieve it. Shadowed areas of hat are painted in with a Cadmium Red toned with Mars Black.
I made a lighter tint of Cadmium Red for the light parts of the hat by adding some Flake White. You can see that her index finger is extended but almost hidden behind her cheek. I decided that this was distracting and ended up removing it (only in the painting of course).
Forgot to take progress photos. Eyes and Mouth were done in First Session. Skin painted from dark to light. Didn’t control my edges like I should have, they should have been more carefully blended with more lost edges. Added highlights with Flake White scumbled into the still wet painted areas.The hat and background were both glazed with Quinacridone Magenta. Giving both of these areas more complexity. Did the same with the dress using Phthalo Blue.
I added another coat of Quinacridone Magenta to the hat and brought up the highlights with opaque Cadmium Red. Deepened the shadows on hat, face and body with a mixture of Burnt Sienna and Phthalo Blue. Painted the earring and the mehndi designs on hand, forearm and chest.
I added another mehndi design to left deltoid. Viridian glazed over earring stones. Added a shadow from the hat over her left forehead and temple and painted in the hair. Freshened up some of the highlights with Flake White and Cadmium Red. Added a touch of Quinacridone Magenta to skin edges closest to hat in an effort to both lose the edges, pushing these into the background and hinting at a reflected color from the light bouncing back from the hat.
Your true love of her shows through with every stroke of the brush…
Interesting. She said the same thing — that painting the henna tattoos was like repeatedly stroking her hand.
What an interesting idea to introduce the mehndi designs on the lady in question. The way you’ve prepared the canvas gives the painting deep character and a substantial feeling. I think this is probably your most accomplished picture to date. Thanks for including me in your thought processes and their execution. I’ve a lot to learn, including the way an artist (you) builds up his painting (and also about mehndi). I am only able to make the connection with writing — where you start with nothing, e.g., a blank canvas.
I’ve started outlining my methods mostly for archival reasons. My approach and technique are stll changing with almost every painting. So it’s not so much because I think this is the right way to proceed but rather I want to be to look back and see what worked and what didn’t and perhaps understand why.