Portrait Artists

I was looking at portrait painting at found Kyle Lambert's digital photorealistic painting on an ipad, even iphone....
I'm like, wow !!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__rPHTWxS4g

and then I was looking at his blog
http://kyle-lambert.blogspot.com/
and finding more cool stuff,

I found out about Chuck Close
and I'm like double wow !!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgsFYXsdcp0

Did he go back and forth to paint those tiny colorful shapes to make up a giant face ?
I found this other video on youtube, it kinda breaks down the painting into values, contour and adding grid, so it's like individual squares and then it's ready to be painted.
So..... it's more like, do the preparation, then paint tiny individual squares to make up a whole giant face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFZLwNDyCU0

or see here
Art Lesson Plan : Chuck Close Grid Drawing projects for students
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/larry-valuegrid.htm

Portrait painting - Little girl w Balinese Hat

Acrylic on canvas
(left) size : 30 x 40 cm
(right) size : 30 x 35 cm

The one on the left I did 3 years ago (2007)
and the one I just finished is the smaller one on the right.
Yes, there's definitely improvement there.
sorry, reference photo is not shown :)

First of all :), I don't really do portrait, I prefer painting animals, more freedom there :D
So I struggled with this painting
because I don't know how to do portraits ;p
and because I want to focus on the painting technique instead of the drawing technique, I cheated, yupppp :) I photocopied-enlarged the original photo (it's an old out of focus photo, btw) and I traced it onto the canvas.
but even then, I can't make it to look like the real person, I mean, it doesn't have to be photo-realistic, I like it better if a portrait painting is smudgy, coarse brushstrokes, loose, alla prima, etc but you know how even such "messy" paintings look like the reference photo/person ?
I couldn't achieve that, even after tracing it !!
Both paintings were done by me, both were traced using the same size enlarged photocopy but both end up looking like 2 different girl.
can you imagine the frustration ?
okay, after a comparison, the little girl's face on the right is slightly wider, that's why she looks a bit chubbier ;) but only by 0.7 cm, more or less.

I used Acrylics only, without any medium (retarder, glazing, flow enhancer, etc)
I wanted to achieve an oil-like-alla prima painting, but I couldn't, instead it's kinda rough and the color is not exactly perfect either. (no color theory here, I just any colors that I feel appropriate)
and I was searching for youtube videos on how to paint portrait with acrylic, but I end up getting a lot of oils instead, some are good though. (links below)
and I ended up always smoothing the painting out with the brush.
I dunno why I keep on doing that, I did a study to paint Bing Crosby CD Christmas CD Cover and I think I did great, but I can't re-do that technique on this portrait though.
Here's the original CD cover art.


Here's the WIP




done

and If my painting looks unfinished, I kinda like a painting that looks that way. and I deliberately leave the hat as it is, pink and yellow unfinished :)

close up of the face


Bottom line, I think portrait artists rocks, their skill is something I wish to "absorb" lol :)

================
Here are the youtube links that may be useful for you (and me)

Color Palette for portrait - wetcanvas
http://www.wetcanvas.com/ArtSchool/Portraiture/Palette/

Portrait Painting
ACRYLIC
nice n fast : acrylic with gel medium (retarder ?)
but color palette not shown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQsazAmERlo

OIL
alla prima by Robert Liberace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMv_nOHO_9g

Jeffrey Watts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaTtPA_HvXA

Tamara Geddes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMPanPKw6bs

Craig Nelson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi4Zcy6TyF8

Irv Rudley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsJlUm6bYYQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCjQl0BrlQY&NR=1

Sharon Sprung
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xnFc8qyX8s

painting realistic eyes by Tamara Geddes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_N_Mqu4G6Q

Natalia paints oprah (irudley's student)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsrJVe4d54Q

and I think this is Acrylic :
Farsad Labbauf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD6Woiczcq0&NR=1
This could be achieved with a computer, but a human doing this ?
If there's no initial sketch or whatever to help the artist, wow !

==========================

My Paintings

Gentle Rhinoceros

"Gentle Rhino"
Acrylic Painting on Canvas
50x60cm


the horn took forever and I still can't achieve the super shiny metallic result
For this I used Titanium white and Payne's grey
and a very light touch of Cadmium yellow light (super thin) on where the light hits on the horns.


just having fun with photoshop ;p

added color on rhino's face, titanium white, mars black, burnt sienna


next is adding more color in the rhino's face
It's a combination of adding color with dry brush, scumbling, anything really :)
it was all "try this and try that" to see what works.


adding wrinkle lines

after this, I used a soft round brush to soften the top part of the wrinkle lines and maybe add some more highlights underneath the wrinkle lines, when necessary
oh and I did the eyes.

and done :


closeup :


Painting Total time :
1 day + 15.5 hours
done in 9 different days in the span of 27 days

what I still want to learn : how to achieve that realistic metallic-stainless steel horn

Learning to paint shiny objects

I've never really done still life
so I'm trying to learn how to do shiny objects,
in particular metal/stainless steel right now

I was just browsing youtube and found this video
it's a painting of jugs, not metal, but kinda shiny
it's interesting how the artist blends color by dabbing with a sponge
it's a whole lot of dabbing....but it works :)
watch here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6FxEJfvOEI

I also found this artist who does impressive still life
M Collier (works in oil)


and here's my attempt / practice to paint a shiny metallic-stainless steel horn for my next rhino painting.

see what I mean ? I can't get it to shine *pulling hair*
I only used Titanium white, mars black or payne's gray, so.....
I so wanna learn painting shiny object.... what's the secret ?



and another artist
whose technique and color I like
Vivienne St Clair

(images belong to the respective owners)

in the mean time, I'm still struggling how to paint a very shiny metal :)

Ostrich & Dragonfly painting

Baby Ostrich & Dragonfly
Acrylic on canvas
40x60cm
"I come in peace" could be the possible title :)
Reference photo from lady_carol and paintcrazy022 from wetcanvas (thx :D)


Initial sketch and Pink background (Liquitex' light portrait pink)
Time : 3 hours


Baby ostrich's face (beak included)
Payne's grey, Titanium white
a touch of light portrait pink & raw sienna
Time : 10.5 hours in 4 days

I was gonna go for the dramatic effect, just the baby ostrich looking up and that's it, but.....

something was kinda missing, so I added a dragonfly :)
Time : 3-3.5 hours


close up of the dragonfly
wings : Payne's grey and Titanium white

Total time :
16-17 hours in 6 days in the span of 13 days
:)

Peacock Painting

Peacock Painting
Acrylic on 450g/m2 canvas
50x60cm

I really dunno the affects of the different weights/thickness of canvas.....
I saw this canvas and they're sold in different canvas weight, so I chose the "heaviest" one available just to see.
quality, durability, anyone ?

Used a pallette knife and that leftover pint of white winsor newton paint that was too dry and chunky to use with a brush.
I just pressed the paint with the pallette knife onto the canvas, kinda like using a gesso
now at least I know that my almost-dry-chunky white paints won't get wasted :)


Sadistic looking peacock, for fun ;)
Time : 1 hour sketch
then I added messy yellow+white background


Filled in the blue and did the head
Time : 2.5 hours
Blue : Ultramarine blue + a lil bit of Cerulean blue + black here and there


added more blue on the body
Time : 2 hours
did the crown (is it called the crown ?)
Time : 4 hours


started on the lower part of the body
Time : 11 hours n 40 mins
yuppp... lots of staring and wondering what to do
for the greenish feather on the upper of the lower body,
I was tempted to buy cobalt turquoise because I didn't know what color to use
but I finally used
titanium white + ultramarine blue as base
then glaze it with thin layer of phtalo green
and the yellowish highlights, not yellow, but light green from cad lemon light + emerald green

and

Voilaaaa.........


Total time :
21 hours 10 mins
done in 6 days
in the span of 10 days
*phew*
(photos are a bit darker than the actual painting though)
reference photo by stalksthedawn from wetcanvas (thx :D)

Will try to improve on the technique when doing another peacock in the future.
I want to learn how to achieve that glistening glimmer shiny peacock feather.
and I really should learn the names of body parts/feathers of the peacock instead of saying the green part, the blue part, etc ;p

James Hance - cool artist

I found this guy, James Hance, when I was just looking at twitter's random update tweets
and I totally love his paintings.... (not the scary goonie one, though ;p)

Loose but real-life looking
and he paints faces with great resemblance despite his loose technique
I want to learn that.... loose paintings seems easy and fun
but I know it's not easy, well, at least for me it's not :)
learn learn learn !!! :)

I don't know much about copyright and all that stuff....
but since his art contains characters from the muppets, starwars, etc
I just had to ask whether he obtained permission from the copyright holder first
and he kindly replied :
"hi! pretty much everything I paint is parody art, falling under the umbrella of 'fair use'. helps to have a good attorney :)"


www.jameshance.com

Don't his paintings just make you happy ?
Love love love em :)

I think paintings should be just that
Fun to paint and the end result must make others happy
:)

follow him on twitter to get updates on his latest works
http://twitter.com/JimJeroo

Lion Painting

I have this canvas that I've prepped a while ago...
I've always wanted to paint a big Lion face, but never got around to it, until now

Acrylic on stretched canvas
(80cmx80cm - 31.5"x31.5")
- gessoed twice (sanded each time)
- I then add another layer of paint (titanium white and black) --> I dunno why, I seriously dunno why I wanted a greyish background
I used pallette knife (or was it a plastic card ?) to smooth the surface, but I didn't get a smooth surface anyways because there'd be uneven lines from the pallette knife... d'oh, but it just adds an un- noticeable texture ;p


I didn't sketch the lion face beforehand and I thought I'd just used diluted paint to draw straight onto the canvas.
See the white heart shaped drawing above the nose.... the first drawing was too small, the second drawing, the nose was to far down, the third drawing was ok.
I then add crazy looking hair, just for fun.
Total time : 2 hours


I started adding in color, struggling with what colors to use, trying this and that, mixing this and that. The lion's looking pretty sad at this stage, and honestly, I was kinda frustrated looking at it, hah :)
Total time : 30 mins


I finally used yellow ochre + cadmium orange and some burnt umber for the darkish brown color.
Just went loosely on the hair using a big fray cheap brush, hey... it works !!! :)
I'm so happy about it, no painting details using small fine brush, just going loosely and fastly.
Total time : 2 hours


Defining the eyes and nose
Total time : 3 hours


Greyish background is painted black
Finishing the hair, using different colors to add depth
I love how the hair sort of flame-y on the bottom of the painting
Total time : 4 hours


Eyes close up

I did this in a total of 11.5 hours on 5 different days, stretched over a time period of 1 month and 6 days.
Why ?
because I'm a lazy bum, that's why ;p
and a lot of staring and whining "oh how do I do this, oh I can't do this, bla bla bla" because I didn't know how to do this and that and I was afraid how it was gonna turn out.
but I think this is the best painting I've done :) and I'm so loving it !!!!
I didn't even know I could do this, but I did anyway and it turned out great :)

I know I said that I'm going to start painting on smaller canvas to explore more techniques, but I think I shouldn't be afraid to do pieces on big canvases, I need to stay confident & just try any techniques I think is possible, no pressure, no burden, just having fun.

and I don't mean to brag, and I know I've still got a loooootttt to learn, but Sometimes I "WOW" myself !! I'm really really proud of this one and I find that a lot of the times we (by we, I mean me) limit ourselves and not dare to try, but I find that if we just push ourselves a little bit more, we might be surprised of the outcome :)
I mean, it's like "I had it in me the whole time and I didn't know it ?"
"Where did the talent come from ?" I just keep getting better even without proper practice/training. I mean.... I'm ashamed to say that I've been lazy and I haven't been using my talents and pushing myself to see how far I can go, I haven't up my skill in painting, I've just been neglecting it, yes because of time limit, but also because I'm lazy and I'm not confident, but it's mostly laziness.
I know it's not just me, there are a lot of talented people out there who don't use their talents well and waste it away, and there are some who are less talented but they keep pursuing their dream and they succeed, they become really really good from a lot of hard work and years of non stop learning.

So.... I think I've got some talents in painting, and even if I'm just totally biased and subjective on this, and If I actually have no talents whatsoever, it doesn't matter, coz I'm gonna start painting more, just paint and get better at it and see where this will take me :)

I think we should all do that,
No whining, No saying "I can't do this",
We need to work hard and keep pushing ourselves and have confidence in what we do.
Just try and see what happens.
You may not always have a "pretty" result, but you'll definitely learn a lot,
and in time, I'm pretty sure that you'll get your "pretty" result, eventually.

What to do when I don't know how to paint this & that

When I got stuck on something
How to paint furs, detailed / loose, how to paint this and that, etc etc
and that got me frustrated.

- I'll simply take Time off,
- Go out and not think about my painting
- maybe watch youtube for free painting tutorials
- Look at other people's art that I love (from books),
Look at them and imagined what kinds of techniques they use.
- go to online forums to ask questions or just read others' techniques. (www.wetcanvas.com)
- If you have resources , painting DVD, artists friends, use em, ask em :)
- and Reflect on what technique I can do on my painting.
and usually in the end of day 1, motivation is back.

What I do to make me love painting

I like painting
but sometimes it feels like a burden and I feel like I'm walking alone in the dark.
Yea yea... complaints aside....
I want to love painting, make it relaxing, perhaps like a therapy too
It's not going to be work..... It's gonna be something I've been wanting to do & can't wait to do it, again and again.
Like escaping daily routine, having time for myself,
I want the thought of "painting" makes me feel that excitement like I'm going abroad to travel or like eating desserts
Since this is becoming something that I can't wait to do.
I won't feel lonely while painting, I won't feel like I'm missing out on that few family-friends time, I won't care what others think of my art
well... I do have to care, because sometimes their critics push you to learn more and be better :)
but I won't let it make me feel like I can't paint at all.

I have to be brave in making mistakes
It's okay to make mistakes
It's okay to wreck a halfdone painting
Have confidence in what I do.
Always learning
Always having Fun
I want to like like like painting, loveeeeeee painting.

Leave the guilt part behind
Learning process always involves spending money
So If I want to experiment or paint whatever
I'm not going to feel guilty that I may be wasting canvases / paints.
I'm learning. It's a process.
and having said that, Right now, I'm going back to smaller canvas so I can explore different techniques and not waste as much paints.
Maybe use cheaper paints, we'll see.
(I'm still using professional-artist grade paints now - I know - it's my ego)
I'm going to learn guilt-less
I'm starting small, learn, have fun, be explosive impulsive if I feel it
or maybe therapeutic like
whatever.....
then when the time is right, I'll move back to bigger canvases.

If you're wondering about the guilt part
I'm the kind of girl who buys high quality sketch book and since I care for it so much I ended up not using it.
I can't work freely on it because I'm afraid I'll fill it with ugly drawings.
So I use scrap books instead, plain papers, and I work better there, no guilt.
Psychotic I know ;p ahahha but I know I'm not the only one.

So..... imma start painting again for me :)

Why I've been avoiding painting ?

So aside from :
- I'm lazy.... yepp.... working on it....really hard... won't be lazy anymore now !!
- my always wanting to paint a good painting all the time, self-expectation too high
- my fears of ruining a painting that's half done
- my lack of knowledge in painting
- and not to mention I lack patience and oh,
remember the I'm kinda lazy part (esp the clean up part)
- the long hours of trials and errors and not knowing what to do
making mistakes and getting frustrated where I should just take it lightly and have fun in the learning process
- the alone time
Alone for hours n no one 2 talk to sucks,
and when I'm done, everyone's asleep
or I take too long to clean up and I got left behind alone at home ;p
combined that with laziness.

- I also got scared from the expectations of others.
how they become kinda disappointed when I paint something that they don't like, but I like it (technique wise - colorwise, etc)
not necessarily a bad one, but simply I like it and they don't
they don't have to say it, and they'll deny it if I ask, and I'm not being over sensitive about it, but I can see it in their eyes.
okay sometimes they say that they don't like it.
I know this shouldn't be a problem, but it makes me feel bad because I've failed to impress them
o wait, the problem's probably mine
but no, it's more like I feel I've wasted time and money to paint something that actually turn out not 'right' to them.
sometimes they don't want to see the I'm-still-learning-how-to-paint results, the not-so-perfect painting.

Expectations from others suck
"You need to fix this, you need to fix that" like it's like flipping hands
But I should use that constructive critique to encourage me to be better, to be more skillful

sometimes the expectation's too high
another critique in the family, would come and point out all the details that I need to fix,
not that it's a bad thing, but every painting I do becomes subject to her wanting me to make it right.
and if I don't fix it, she'd go on and on and on and on about it.
So it becomes a job rather than just painting for fun and for me.

sometimes the expectation's too low
I did this one painting on a large canvas, colorwise is pleasing on the eyes :)
the propotion of the object of the painting is good
but technique wise, it's sloppy
sometimes others like it, so when the color and the proportion is good, technique might not matter to them.

- feeling turned down
a lot of the time when I paint, and I'm all excited to show em my new painting, they're not 'excited' about it.
They're like "oh I'll see it after I'm done watching this soap opera on TV"
I think they make me feel like I'm inadequate and I'm only creating crap.'
I'm not writing this to get "aawww....you poor thing" and getting approval that they're annoying and I'm right
I just want to get this out of my chest.
I know I'm supposed to paint for me anyway, not for them.

all of dat
I think that's about all.....
Now I know why
I'm not finding justification not to paint
I'm just asking myself and finding out why I'm not feeling excited to paint anymore

I know these things shouldn't get to me and I should use it to prove to them that I'm actually good and that I can become better in time.
but sometimes it brings me down a bit and I don't like it.
so a combination of all of that is probably why I avoid painting.
but I've gotta fight it and just paint and have fun with it.

No pressure, no fear, realize it takes practice, be patient, it's a process
be humble, u're learning, paint 4 urself, courage and confident and experiment, make it ur own style.
Don't focus too much on 1 spot, don't overthink, have fun
Enjoy the process n learn from it.

Oh and prayers too....
I don't do this too often, which I should.
but in everything I do, I want to say a simple prayer, so that I can make use the talents that He's given me and be better and that the result may be beneficial for others.
I also wish that someday my paintings would be worthy enough to be involved in charity
and I wish for world peace *miss universe wave*
no seriously, I really want to master the wave....;p
no seriously.... I do want world peace and say a brief prayer before painting and give up my future paintings for charity.
and I want 'em to be sold, maybe auctioned, in a really really prestigious auction house.
kinda like Van Gogh's painting sold for millions, imagine what millions of dollars can do for charity.
Of course I wish to still be alive when my paintings are auctioned for millions of dollars for charity.
and of course, everything is possible :)
Peace.

Acrylic painting Instructional DVD - Tutorial

I found this clip on youtube when I was looking for 'How to paint fur with acrylic'
and this is quite useful........ even tho I wasn't looking for a detailed technique....it's always good to learn :)
I love love love detailed paintings, but I personally don't have the patience to do them ;p

The basic :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r88_8nzTEc

More detail on the fur painting :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu8YVsNVlIQ

The artist is Derek Wicks
www.derekwicks.com
and he sells the instructional DVDs on his website
He has more stuff there.... color theory, compositions, birds, flowers, etc
I haven't bought his DVD, I just found this clip on youtube to be quite useful and I think it's very generous of him to post that clip :)

So.... I hope it can be helpful to you too :)

What I'm painting right now

right now -
I'm doing a study of Xu Beihong's "Slave and Lion"
The original painting was done in 1924
and it was auctioned by Christie's in Hong Kong at 53.9 million HK dollars (6.9 million U.S. dollars)
a record high price compared with other Chinese artists' paintings worldwide.

Here's the pic of the original painting
I saw this on a magazine and I just fell in love with it.
but what I do is I cut out the slave and only paint the lion and the cave w the colorful background.


honestly... I started this painting in 2007 and left it untouched for 2.5 years....
and now after fiddling with it for 20 hours ;p.... it's finally done :)
not perfect.... still a lot to learn....but it was a learning experience n I'm quite happy with the result

sometimes I love the colors on my rag paper towel


The pallette after washed and scraped ;p


anddd.........
I have my canvases all lined up for next projects
next is lion head
next is loose portrait of a lil girl
next is fun painting, becoz the canvas frame is dented and I just wanna have fun dabbing paints and playing with colors
can't wait for that one :)

Tips when you're frustrated in painting

Since I'm still learning,
I find myself in a situation where I don't know how to paint this and that
"how do I do this ? do that ?"
"Ooopss !! "
"Nooo... what have I done ??!!!"
and sometimes it just got so frustrated when you have no one to turn to

So
this is what I do :
- I take time off
Go out, do whatever, have fun and not think about the painting
- I go to youtube looking for painting technique video
- I look other people's paintings that I love
(gallery, books, etc)
- I go to art forum , in this case www.wetcanvas.com

After a while, I started to reflect on what technique I can do to improve the painting
I'll be like, "hey.... this should work" and "ooo yeaa... I can do that to achieve that effect."

and at the end of day 1
Motivation is back and I'm ready to paint again :)

Arts and Artists I love

http://www.robertbateman.ca/art/rbop/rbatemanonpainting.html
http://www.robertbateman.ca/art/rbop/fiveeasypieces.html
good inspirational read :)

http://www.terryisaacsart.com/
I have his book on acrylic painting technique "Painting the Drama of wildlife"
a good one

http://wildlifeart.wordpress.com/
or www.jasonmorgan.co.uk
amazing wildlife artist - oil painting
WIP in his blog

http://www.epicart.net/
man, that tiger looks like a photograph

Pochi painting WIP

My last painting was 3 years ago....
crazy huh....
anyway...
this is a painting that's long overdue
I posted that I was going to paint this one on Dec 19th 2007
and it's now April 2010
wihuuuuu......

okay......
so this is Pochi Poronchi
(the reference pic)


and this was left like this for around..... 2 years ?
oh my


okay.... so I recently started painting again
Day 1 (3 hours)
adding in some color inside


did the eyes and the spray bottle
I've never done still life, so with the spray bottle, I was struggling with the shape and how to make it look plastic-ky


Day 2 (3 hours)
added more background color
it was ultramarine blue + dioxanine purple + titanium white
it took me quite some time to do the background
I'm re-learning the basics of acrylic.....


a little zoom



Day 3 (2.5 hrs)
adding fur details
I'm starting to get frustrated here....
how do I do this ? how do I ? how ? how ? how .....




Day 4 - didn't paint

Day 5 (5 hrs)
finding courage and continuing with it

yeppp.... 5 long hours of trials and errors and experimenting and figuring out this and that

the result :)

I know it may not look finished...
It feels like it's a cut and paste object placed on the canvas
but I really like the color of the background and how it gives a flowy feeling
I seriously find the flowy purple soothing to look at
and I don't want to mess it by adding shadows
and honestly, I'm scared to ruin it ;p
So I'm leaving it like this for now....
This is just to get me started painting again, I don't want to put too much pressure on myself
I was quite pleased with the result :)
I know it's not perfect and the object may be a bit too small in proportion to the canvas.
and I need to learn more about how to paint fur
but for now.... I like it :)

closer look


I'm always open for critiques and suggestions :)
feel free to comment :D

Pochi & spray bottle
Acrylic on Canvas (50cm x 60cm)