Portrait Update

I squeezed a small amount of painting time into my day today and managed to practice some new techniques that Don showed me in class last week.  I gave myself over to the techniques and didn't worry about  getting it right as I develop my skills.  It was fun and interesting to be brave and try a new approach that was more 'painterly'.

You can see where I have added some colour to the background and changed the horizon line of the lake so that it is no longer competing with the eyes and face of the portrait. I may move it further yet as it creates quite a visual line right across the painting with the folds of the shawl.  I have cut back into the hair reshaping it and will rework it so that it has whispy bits going back over the background if that makes sense. I rendered the left eye in using the new technique and have yet to refine the shape and size.  I have also moved the mouth to the right and have yet to paint over the original position which you can see showing through like a black smudge at the side of the present mouth.

If you are interested in the techniques I've been using - painting the image rather than drawing then 'colouring in' with paint, I've found two great YouTube tutorials that demonstrate what I've been doing.  Their technique and mastery far exceed mine of course!  Check them out if you are interested.

"Lloyd" by Zimou Tan

Demonstration by Sergey Gusev