The Young Artist Portrait

Young Artist 24x30 Oil on canvas

My daughter Clara loves to draw. I choose to paint her at the kitchen table with a marker in hand as I often find her. I began by taking a reference photo and then did a charcoal study drawing ( picture below.) I used an ultra smooth primed canvas. A smooth surface works better with the glazing techniques that I use. I painted a grisaille (under painting) in burnt sienna onto the canvas. I then used glazes followed by scumbling and some areas of wet on wet painting. My latest discovery that I will use on every painting hereafter is a modern Maroger medium! It is a glazing medium that adds a luminosity to the paint. I mixed a little bit in my thicker paint as well to create a paste so that the entire painting would have the same luminous appearance as the glazed areas.

reference photo and charcoal study - The final painting is slightly different. I removed some of the items on the wall and shortened Clara's hair to reflect a recent haircut.

the grisaille above was painted on the canvas in burnt sienna.

Wonderland Revisited

Wonderland oil on wood panel 20 x24

This is my first multi-figure, portrait painting. I painted Avery, Clara and Oliver playing make-believe in their Alice in Wonderland costumes. I used photo references from our photo shoot at Chandler park. This time I painted the grisaille under painting in the background red. In the story there is a baby that inexplicably turns into a pig so I painted Clara (Alice) holding a little pig. I added poppies in the field to both bring more of the reddish orange color into the composition and because it seemed like an obvious choice of flowers to appear in a Wonderland scene.

Clara's Portrait

Clara Oil on panel 11x14

Here is my second finished portrait. I worked from a photo reference for this one. It was meant to be a study for another painting. I wanted to try starting with an under painting (grisaille) in terra verte (green) like painters from the baroque period and more specifically like Manet used in Luncheon in the grass where he painted the females in green and the scenery and men in red. my grisaille is pictured below. A grissaille is essentially a value study in a single color that helps not only determine value but also composition.

Painting Portraits

Larry Oil on canvas by Heather Dixon

The new year has begun and with it I have begun a new art class. I am taking my first portrait painting class. It is on Saturday at Water Street Art Gallery in Sapulpa and is taught by local artist Evelyn Petroski. We had our first class yesterday and painted from a live model. the image above is the resulting painting. I have a lot to learn on the subject of portraits and I hope that you will be able to see my progress as the class continues. The drawings below are ones I did this week of Avery and Clara this week. They are charcoal, white conte and sanguine drawings on tinted paper. I am considering using them as studies for oil paintings in the future. I will be doing a similar drawing of Oliver next using the same materials. Unlike the painting above these drawings were done from photos as reference rather then a live model. (I do not think I could get the kids to sit still for 30 minutes let alone 4 hours!)

Clara Charcoal, conte and sanguine on tinted pastel paper by Heather Dixon

Avery Charcoal, conte and sanguine on tinted pastel paper by Heather Dixon