Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Almost finished!



      I am so close to being finished with this painting. I just see a few things I need to fix and strengthen. Overall, I think it's going well. It's been fun to paint, that's the most important thing right? I like the background, but for some reason the photograph here makes it kind of hard to see. Since I painted this for a demo I'm going to go ahead and describe how I got to this point, from the previous post.

      I continued to layer colors over the skin tones, mainly using permanent rose, raw sienna, burnt sienna and a very, very small amount of my purpley-gray shadow color. That has been one of the hardest things for me to learn, don't paint the shadows as deep as you see them in the photograph. I always think it looks better if you don't make it really dark (it took me several paintings to understand this, finally!), and I like to do the majority of my modeling with the yellows, reds and oranges. They will build up form more than you think they will. At least that's what I was thinking :)

      While the face was drying, I would then go in to the hair and also sharpen up the eyes and mouth a bit. The hair is finished at this point, well. . . maybe. I might go back in and soften it up a little. I try to stop before I really overdo it, but jeez it's hard sometimes! But I can see that I definitely need to darken the cast shadow under his ear. And I'm thinking I might use some more rose on his cheeks and under his chin. All of this will be done quickly, get in and get out, no wishy washy brush work. That's the goal anyway, sometimes my brush just can't help itself :)

      Now, I am planning on having a contest here for all you wonderful, supportive, awesome people who follow along on this journey with me. You guys are great and it never fails to make me smile when I open up my email and see a comment from one of you. It really means a lot to me and I thank you for taking the time to be so kind and helpful :):):) I'm going to be attempting to repay that kindness, and so there is a poll on the sidebar of my blog that has a list of what kind of a prize you guys would like the most. Unfortunately there can only be one winner :( But I may be doing something like this on and off throughout the year. So stay tuned for that. And know that you are loved here! Also, this is going to be an interactive contest, so comments and input are welcome and appreciated! More details to come. Thanks everyone :) 

20 comments:

  1. Hi Crystal.
    Well, I was a little embarrassed to vote, it almost felt wrong! But, of course who could possibly not choose one of your beautiful portraits? What an honour that would be! And what a super idea!
    Now, about your painting - I feel as though I must repeat myself so many times on your blog! How many other words are there for 'Exquisite', 'Amazing', 'Stunning' ..etc are there that I can use? This is another simply beautiful painting of another simply gorgeous child! There are no words!

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  2. Crystal - This looks fantastic, as your paintings always do!
    I'm about to start a portrait. I've only done one or two before and the tip you wrote about keeping the shadows lighter than you see them will help a lot. Thanks for providing that tip. I voted in your poll (who wouldn't want one of your fabulous portraits?!)

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  3. Beautiful! What a handsome boy! You have such talent. I just love your blog. I think it is awesome that we are able to have a support system via the blogging world. Keep up the awesome work!

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  4. Ok, all I can say is WOW! this is wonderful. You definitely have the portrait thing down pat. The light and expressions you are able to capture are incredible!

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  5. Really gorgeous! And what a handsome family you have :) I am so impressed how 'clean and fresh' your work is! I second Sandra 's comments fully --who wouldn't be honored to have a portrait painted by you ? :) and I have run out of superlatives to comment on your paintings

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  6. Sandra, thanks so much my good friend :) You are so sweet, your comments always cheer me up. I would have felt embarrased to vote too, sorry bout that :)

    Thanks very much Michelle! :) All of your paintings are just so stunning, I can't wait to see your portrait :) And it seems like such an obvious thing to not paint the shadows as dark as you see them, but jeez it took me a LONG time to drill that into my head. Glad it was helpful :)

    Thank you very much Carol :)

    Thank you Carrie! :) i really love blogging, I think it's just sad that I probably won't ever get to meet all of you in real life! But it is a mighty cool thing.

    Krista, Thank you so very much! You just brightened my day :)

    Meera, you are the sweetest :):) Thanks so much. And I'm very impressed with the superlatives, i forgot that's what those were called. And I say I want to be a writer, sheesh somebody take my keyboard away ;)

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  7. I love it! I especially like how the hair turned out. Gorgeous!

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  8. Yes, yes, YES! Perfect (again ; ) Glowing skin, sparkling eyes, great hair. I feel like a broken record but it's all true. Thanks for writing your process. I find it very interesting.
    Kudos!

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  9. Very nice!!! Great light on the skin which makes him glow!

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  10. Thanks for sharing the process. This boy looks very calm and a good boy. As usual great painting.

    For a prize I would love to go off to a nice place with family/friends and let my hair down. Also helps me in getting inspired to paint. Are you sending me a vacation package for 2 to Switzerland.. ;)

    p.s. If I could paint like this I would not mind 10 sittings.. :)

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  11. Crystal, you continue to amaze me with your beautiful, fresh skin tones. One of the things you do that really appeals to me is the seamless quality of the skin as the forms turn. Did that make sense lol? In other words, no hard edges in the transition of values.

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  12. hey Crystal..the painting looks wonderful and complete to me..what are you thinking of adding to it?!!Your skin tones are just amazing..just wondering how many paintings it would take for me to be able to achieve that!:)Great work!
    Its impossible to choose anything else as a gift but your painting!

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  13. This painting is coming along very nicely. You keep so much life in your painted subjects, Crystal.

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  14. You have such a talent for capturing the pure essence of children. This little boy is just precious!

    Hope I'm lucky enough to be a winner of your contest!

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  15. Thanks Crystal, for teaching your method. Certainly if you make shadows too dark you can loose brightness.

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  16. Crystal, this is just beautiful, but then all of your work is beautiful. I'm going to have hop on over to the synonym site and find some more words. Just such an incredibly deft and light touch. I LOVE your work, did I mention that? Also, you are being quite generous with your prizes, how sweet. However, we should thank you for bringing such beauty into this world with your work.

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  17. As usual so simple and naturally beautiful. My art seems so fussy, I think I need a Crystal lesson to simplify my art to achieve more clarity.

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  18. Wow, Crystal; this has a hint of beauty...I will come back when it will be completed! Trust your hands:)

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  19. How could I not take a chance such as you are offering. Wow! What an honor that would be. So count my vote.
    Your painting is turning out just fantastic. Great job.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment they really do mean so much to me! Because not all bloggers have their email enabled so I can reply directly through email I will try to reply here in the comments. If I don't please forgive me, life must have been hectic that day! :)) Huzzah!!

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