I just put the finishing touches on my portrait! I wasn't sure if I wanted to work on it today because I always fear over-working a painting. I'm so glad that I did work on it because now it is completely done. It's always tough to decide when something is finished but I always try and finish when my gut tells me it's done. All that's left is that I have to sign it.
This is the first painting that I've completed for 2017 and I'm very proud of it. It captures the spirit and likeness of my girlfriend exactly as I wanted. I've been doing a lot of drawing commissions recently also via Instagram, but I want to start a new painting soon. I'm thinking about doing a profile portrait of my best friend, Russell.
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I'm almost done with this portrait and I'm so proud of it! It only needs a little more work on the background and then I'll sign it.
I'm very proud of the progression of this portrait. It's not done yet, but it's getting close. I'll probably adjust the background a bit more and add some minor details only. My entire goal with this portrait was to capture the spirit of my girlfriend at this point in her life. I believe that's the highest function of art; to freeze a moment and feeling in time as effectively as I can as a painter.
I've always loved drawing and painting portraits and I also wanted to share some insight into the portrait painting process. To capture a portrait, it really comes down to very subtle proportions. You have to ask questions like: How big is the space between the eyes? how wide is the nose? how do the eyes crease with a smile? Etc. There's an endless amount of questions to ask and answer as you paint. Be as careful as you possibly can and never be afraid to adjust something if it doesn't feel right. For skin tones, one of my tips is to avoid a lot of white. You can use white, but sparingly. White is a tricky pigment because you could easily bleach out the skin. You can use Naples yellow mixed into your white if you find your skin looking pale and chalky. I love using backgrounds with portraits and if you choose a background with foliage, like in the portrait below, then remember to keep it more toned down than you think. You want the focus to be on the figure and the background to be an accent. Hopefully those tips help anyone interested in portraiture. I'll be finishing this portrait soon so stay tuned.. This portrait is coming together nicely. I worked on it for a while today. I added more details and firmed up the background. I still have to add more refinement, but I'd say it's 70% complete at this point. It's such a great feeling when a painting is going smoothly.
You can also see more of my work on my Instagram now. Follow me at: www.instagram.com/ericsantoli |
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