Thursday, February 21, 2013

Sweet Baby Girl Portrait Commission WIP

Sweet Baby Girl, work in progress
8 x 10 inches, watercolor 
 
This week I've been working on a new portrait commission of this absolutely darling little girl. I'm going to show a few pics of the painting in progress just in case you guys are curious. The above shot is where I'm at right now (that blank line to the left of her is water from a sprinkler, haven't started that yet).

My client said that she really loved my use of vivid color so I'm trying to keep that in mind as I layer the skin tones (no I haven't found a way around that layering yet. Argh). Painting a baby's skin is a very delicate process, you have to be quick and sure about what colors to use and where to use them. The less you layer on a baby the better. Her face is basically done at this point, we'll see if I need to add anything once I finish the background and her body. 

This has been one of the funnest commission's I've ever had. I mean just look at that smile? Don't you just love her? :)

Here are a few earlier pics in progress too: 

the preliminary drawing

A close up of her face, in progress 

It's been a while since I've posted a watercolor WIP so if you guys have any questions ask away and I'll try my best to answer them in the questions. :) 

Listening to: ZZ Ward, Put The Gun Down
Reading: Indigo Spell, by Rachelle Mead
Watching: you guessed it, Supernatural :)
Snacking on: apple slices and peanut butter

12 comments:

  1. Beautiful Crystal!! Love to see your works in progress. Amazing how you can use all those colors but have no hard edges, what paint colors are you using for this baby's skin color? If you don't mind me asking.

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    1. Hi Maria! Thank you! I primarily use cobalt blue, permanent rose, and hansa yellow light. :)

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  2. She's absolutely precious, Crystal...I'm always amazed when you do portraits in watercolor...the
    skin tones are beautiful. I look forward to the progression of this piece!!!

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  3. Ma chère Chrystal,
    Je suis très admirative devant ce nouveau projet déjà bien avancé... Vous avez un très grand talent pour capturer les expressions et...ce grand sourire ! Il n'est pas aisé de dessiner et peindre une bouche ouverte.
    Gros bisous

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    1. Thank you so much Martine! I painted her open mouth first so I'd be sure to get it right. :)

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  4. This is so adorable! Look at that happy face! There's no nicer sight than a child with a huge smile :0)
    I have a question - well, two actually... The drawing is on white paper but the close up of the face is on toned paper. Do you give the whole paper a wash of colour before you start? And do you paint over your pencil marks?
    Anyway - I love this one! :0)

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    1. Thanks Sandra! The close up was taken at night so the lighting was really off, it is still painted on white paper. And I do paint over my pencil marks. I don't know why they show up so much darker in the photo, they really aren't that dark in real life. :)

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  5. Hi Crystal, I enjoyed your article in the Artbyte on Blocks on DPWs. It was interesting to read your reflections on the 30 in 30, it was a challenge wasn't it? So nice to get to know you better- you is kind, you is important, you is good artist! :))))

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    1. Thanks so much Bruce! I enjoyed yours too. :) It really was a challenge!

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  6. Hi Crystal.
    I LOVE that big, beautiful gummy smile!!! This style and medium is my favorite of yours.
    As for not using glazing - have you tried pouring?

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    1. THanks Kathryn! I love her smile too! So darling. :) I have tried pouring, but not seriously. I wasted a BUNCH of paint and found it so hard to control. Plus to me it's the same as layering, but even more time consuming because each layer is even thinner than it would be to paint it. But maybe because I'm such a newb at it.

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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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