Practice, Practice, Practice

My art teacher consistently reminded me to focus on form and detail, to take my time, and practice, practice, practice. If I did these things I would produce beautiful portraits.

In these three works the same model is used. The first is a pencil sketch of the models. This is a rough sketch. (I love these as much as I love the final paintings.)

The second is the finished oil painting. With oil paint form is built with layers. I chose to accentuate her face with a background ensemble of browns. The background should never overpower the focal point of the painting. In this painting the focal point is her beautiful face and hair. The subtle green brings in the shadows. My palette consisted of muted colors. There's a richness and depth with oil paint.

I enjoyed painting her portrait so much that I decided to do it again but this time with a different medium - gouache. Gouache is an opaque watercolor paint consisting of natural pigment, water and a gum binding agent. I changed her glance. I wanted her to look directly at me. The final result is beautiful. It's light and airy.

For me it's all about faces: the expressions, the features, the personality. I love drawing portraits from life and reference photos. It takes a great deal of concentration and focus. The result is beautiful.

Which of these mediums touches your heart? Do you like them all? Please leave a comment below.

SHOP - With or Without Me Gouache Painting

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