After a long hiatus, I’ve finally gotten back to my rim-lit portrait study (see versions one, two, three, and four). This time I’m applying the lessons I’ve learned from the C-17 and am working on the drawing in Adobe Illustrator. Once I’m satisfied with the drawing, I will print it out and then do a few oil studies on top. Then I should be ready to start actual painting.
Working on a iteration IV of my Portrait Study (I, II, III). 12″ x 16″ acrylic on canvas board. This time I am using a dark, cool, geometric background and warm darks for the figure. My plan is to add black lines separating the background tiles and then soften all of the edges so that they look like an out-of-focus stained glass window. I chose darker tiles behind the face to accentuate the rim-lighting and lighter teal tiles in the back to silhouette the hair.
Still very much a work in progress. I have to finish all of the tiles before I start on the hair and the rim lighting because these go on top of the tiles. I’ll probably add one more base coat to the figure before dry brushing in the form with a very dark tint of Burnt Sienna.
Did some more work on my portrait study, tightening up the boundary between light and shadow, and adding more cool and warm paint. The shape of the eye and the hairline still need a bit of work. Then I will go in and very carefully paint the forms in the shadow area.
This piece uses water miscible Duo Aqua Oils by Holbein, which have a nice buttery texture, but for some reason are very shiny. I had a lot of trouble seeing the image through all of the reflections as I painted and taking this photo was even harder.
