This photo really doesn’t do this one justice, but its been sitting on my board for a while now and I actutally started this one over a year ago. Here is the link.

This one fits in with my contemplation series and means a few different things, I don’t want to impart my thoughts on others so happy for you guys to make up your minds on this one

Once its dry I will get a better photo

Calling this one pretty much done, maybe a few tweeks here and there.. its been a fun experiment trying this technique ..I feel like I can call it done, tho I can see areas I would like to keep working but time calls for finishing up a different painting and moving onto the next thing

• Self – portrait WIP… continued

• Self portrait in the old masters / realism styles -WIP 1
• Start of portrait

Next step Added some more colour to the face and  hair. Started to colour the top Loving watching this as it drys also it changes

OTHER RELATED  POSTS:

• Self – portrait WIP… continued

• Self portrait in the old masters / realism styles -WIP 1
• Start of portrait

Wow 2011, almost done! As I was finishing up towards the end of this year, I had to put all of my art aside to finish up my other commitments – phew..

Now we are past Christmas,  I have been able to spend  some time on my experiment with old masters techniques using myself as the subject.

Here the photos of my progression,  where I have started to apply the colour to the face and start to get it all happening. So far its going well I think I can see areas on the drawing / placement of the mouth and eyes I am not happy with, but I just telling myself at this point I am just experimenting with the technique, it doesnt matter that its slightly off Is it strange that I seem to have this conversation constantly running in my head when creating? ??

Having finally starting to add the paint I am finalling getting to get a  “feel” for the type of painting that I have wanted to achieve for many years, but I have always just sort of fumbled through. I am not sure that it would be the style that I would always paint in but I do know that I wanted to try and achieve the realism with paints as I do with my pencils.

Frustration is in the paint drying at this point it time!!! Good thing I have a couple on the go. I am making myself finish off some previous works I have started before I jump into something new at this point end of the year and all that.

OTHER RELATED  POSTS:

• Self portrait in the old masters / realism styles -WIP 1
• Start of portrait

I have always been facinated with the realism in some of the old masters works, it shows up in my coloured pencil art reguarly but I haven’t been dedicated enough to try in oils or rather I should say I have tried and failed.

In this style of painting in order to achieve the luminosity that the old master achieved the process is to paint in an underpainting of “dead” colours and then go over with skin colour after (in brief terms).

I am doing this from a photo and learning alot as I go, here is my session from one day to the next still finalising the layers and values of these “Dead” colours before I even think about the colour layers.

On the left is the beginning of the first session and on the right after, you can see in the latter one I have concentrated on the highlights there is more definition of the shadows, everything is much smoother and blended. I added more colour to the background as I would like to get that to dry alot and finalised that before i start too much with the hair. I can see that the nose and the mouth is not really quite right – (Do I really smile like that?) and I can see a few areas that I need to get to yet.

Not sure how it’s going to come out but it’s all about the journey not the destination right?

Here is the progress of this one. I am hoping it can turn out how i am envisaging it. I need to wait for the oils to dry before finishing up the flowers and hair

If you love cooking you will know why I might call this one best buddies.