Good evening, all!
Just a quick update on this piece. After rendering out the eyes completely, (even more than pictured) I found myself getting caught up too much in the detail. I stepped back and evaluated the lighting, and then simplified the eyes into simple shapes with some slight definition that I can pull lights out from at a later stage.
As an artist, training the eye to look for shapes found within the form can be very beneficial to simplifying the figure, and then looking with a keener eye to establish details.
I also find that applying a neutral background in while working on the figure helps the eye to look for local color changes in the portrait. It is much easier to decide what is too dark, what's too light, what is too punchy, and what's too soft.
Here are some more in-progress shots.
Alrighty, this will be the first work-in-progress post on this blog, hopefully followed by many more.
When it comes to painting and drawing, I used to spend a few hours on compositional sketches and setting up, but I felt that due to the planning, the compositions seemed less designed and more forced. I'm not by any means dismissing the importance of composition, but just trying to break free from something that affected my personal work.
I've begun to limit myself to quick 10 second gesture drawings on scrap paper and then painting directly onto the board in a thin oil wash, wiping out highlights, and applying transparent darks over the midtones to build layers and form.
Here are a couple snapshots of an hour long block in phase.
Hello all and thank you for visiting my newly redesigned website!
If you notice by now, the homepage is now a blog where I will post updates to current works in progress, showings, events, and other miscellaneous art news.
Check back once in a while for more news.
-Kit
