Tips & Techniques from Duchy Square Centre for Creativity.
Being able to capture the likeness of a human being on canvas, using paint, is certainly a sought after accomplishment for many new painters. It can also be somewhat challenging. This article will cover some of the more basic portrait painting tips & techniques and help lessen some of the confusion many beginners face. With practice, you will soon be painting portraits like the masters.
If at all possible, I highly recommend you paint your portraits using a live model as opposed to a photograph. There is simply no substitution for painting from life.
Painting a successful portrait is all about how you observe the subject. You want to study the subject as a whole. Study the bone structure and try to see shapes and planes. Do not try and paint every little detail exactly as you see it.
For beginners, it is probably best to start out with a lighting effect where light and shadow are in high contrast. This will make for a much easier painting.
Focus on one section at a time. Finish each section before moving on to the next.
Keep the darks of your portrait at a thin consistency while your lights should be painted on thickly.
Many beginners struggle with mixing flesh tones, I know I did when I first started painting. Remember that skin comes in a variety of colors & textures, so there is no specific formula for mixing flesh tones in portrait painting. You will have to experiment and practice, until you find the right color mixtures for any particular subject. Never purchase any pre-mixed flesh colours. When mixing your colours be careful not to over mix, which can deaden a colour.
Try and repeat the colours and values in your painting to create balance.
When painting hair, don't try and paint every individual strand of hair. Look at the hair as one object and then paint the lights and darks. Paint the hair in the direction of the shape of the head.
The muzzle area of the face (the space between the nose and mouth) is generally the same colour as the flesh but cooler.
When painting backgrounds, don't make them too detailed or busy. If you do, you will draw focus away from your portrait.
Add bits of colour where the shadow meets the light in your portraits.
Fleshier parts of the face are generally warm and bonier parts of the face, like the chin for instance, are generally cool in colour.
The white in the eye is not white. To get an accurate colour for the white in the eye you can take the subjects basic flesh colour and then lighten it with a gray made from black and white.
I hope these portrait painting tips & techniques have helped. Portrait painting can be difficult, possibly even frustrating in the beginning. Never give up and keep practicing. You will get the hang of it.
For details of courses and workshops available at Duchy Square, please visit our website.
Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Monday, 31 August 2009
DEVON’S COUNTRYSIDE AND COAST ARE THE INSPIRATION FOR HEIDI
Prints and paintings inspired by Devon’s amazing countryside and beaches will be the focus of an exhibition of new work by Heidi Koenig at the Duchy Square Centre for Creativity (3-26 Sept, open daily 10am-5pm)
Heidi’s contemporary abstract prints and paintings will be on display in the downstairs gallery at Duchy Square in Princetown, which is also playing host to one of a series of taster exhibitions by members of Devon Open Studios in the upstairs gallery.
Devon Open Studios is the largest open studio event featuring the work of more than 230 artists and makers across 11 venues between September 5-20 , including the five taster exhibitions.
Along with Heidi’s exhibition, around 30 members of the Open Studios event will have their work on display at Duchy Square, which joins Exeter Phoenix Galleries, Kennaway House, Sidmouth, the Flavel in Dartmouth and Great Torrington’s Plough Arts Centre as the venues for the taster exhibitions.
Born in Germany in 1964, Heidi, who lives in Exeter, attained a first class honours degree in Fine Art Printmaking at Brighton University, before going on to study for a Postgraduate Diploma of Fine Art Printmaking at Slade School of Fine Art.
She has staged a number of solo exhibitions over the last decade, including the CCA Galleries in London, Oxford’s Inspires Gallery and at a number of venues in the Westcountry –the Viewpoint Gallery at Plymouth College of Art and Brownston Gallery in Modbury in the South Hams.
Influenced by the works or Rothko, Frankenthaler and Matisse, Heidi is recognised as one of the strongest artists to graduate from the prestigious Slade School and her enigmatic and energetic images are in demand worldwide.
“Inspiration for individual pieces is driven purely by observation and physical experiences,” said Heidi.
“When I set out to paint I don’t have a conscious viewpoint of how I want it to turn out -the image evolves as I paint, taking me back to the places that I have been and the sensory information that I have absorbed.”
Opened in March and supported by a number of organisations, including Duchy of Cornwall and Devon County Council, the Duchy Square Centre for Creativity offers low cost workshop space on two floors and is helping boost the local economy by connecting local businesses with other key industry sectors.
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