Portrait Painting at the Mint: Day One

For the next four Thursdays I'll be conducting a portrait painting workshop at the Mint Museum. Here's a synopsis on what we will do on Day One.

Hints on lighting the model: Position a single light in front of the model, slightly to one side and slightly above the model. This is the best position to display the planes of the face, and enhance the three-dimensionality of the form. Multiple lights and full frontal lights will flatten the form, and lighting from below will create some exaggerated shadows. Look for the little triangle on the cheek opposite the light….
Review proportions:

Guidelines for the placement of features:
Note in Fig. A that the face is divided into halves from the top of the skull to the bottom of the chin.
The eyes are the midpoint.
Note in Fig. B that the features are divided into thirds; the hairline to the brow bone is one third. The brow bone to the base of the nose is another third. The base of the nose to the bottom of the chin is another third.
Further, the section from the bottom of the nose to the chin can be subdivided into thirds, with the lips located about one third of the way down.

Note the location of the ears within the middle third of the features. Also, note the slope of the face in profile view; this may change greatly depending on the individual; there is no substitute for really looking at your model---remember, these are just guidelines.

Find key reference points and mark them lightly on your canvas/paper. You can use charcoal, conte, or a brush. Pay attention to placement on the picture plane
Begin a transparent monochrome with thinned burnt sienna. Have a rag handy to wipe back into the image. This is when you make major decisions about drawing. Don’t skimp on this. Note the image above (by Chris Saper: visit http://www.chrissaper.com/ )

Now let’s look at the six categories of light on this Rubens painting and note whether they are warm or cool:
1. Highlight is cool. The lightest value, cool color paint on an object.
2. Light is warm. The next lightest value, warm color paint - and it continues to get lighter still as it approaches the area of highlight.
3. Halftone (where light and shadow meet) is cool. A mid-value, cooler color paint where light begins to turn into shadow - but can't be defined as either light or shadow.
4. Shadow is warm. A dark value, warm color paint.
5. Deep Shadow (cast shadow at the origin) is hot. Darkest value, hottest color paint.
6. Reflected light within a shadow is as close to pure color as you can make it. The reflected light should match the value of the shadow and it can be either warm or cool in color.
reference: http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=281

Begin by mixing a warm neutral for shadow, and paint the corresponding areas on your monochrome. Your paint should be thinned a little, but not transparent. As you apply the paint, think like a sculptor---as if you are building the planes of the face. Place your strokes in the direction of the plane. I will demo mixing the colors....
Next, mix a slightly cool neutral that is lighter than your shadow. Apply this to your halftone areas.

This should take us through the first day.....see you next Thursday!