Today I am posting another sketch of Cat. Cat used to be best friends with Henry, when Henry was toddling. I am interested in painting some watercolor pieces of Henry and Cat. So I thought I would practice with graphite. first.
Reference photo:
My sketch :
I spent my time on this one. It was a very enjoyable process. I think that’s because I have such happy memories of this time in my life. Back then we would drive to Albuquerque to visit our daughter’s family two or three times a year. Cat was just another family member back then.
I hope this drawing does honor to the memory those sun-filled days.
I’ve gone back to the photos of Henry and Cat. Today I chose this one.
The little guy has spotted Cat, and is just about to climb onto the adjacent tree stump chair. Cat is just starting to settle into a seated position. The photo was taken in Albuquerque NM on a late afternoon in autumn. I like this one particularly because Henry is smiling.
This time I gave extra attention to the cast shadows.
Anyone who is one knows that there are joyful opportunities and sacred privileges in being a grandparent. Over the years I have experienced more than a few of these special moments. Sometimes they is exist only in a shared photograph. That’s how I felt when I first saw this photograph of my grandson almost ten years ago.
Now as I begin to train myself in drawing and painting, I experience the profound pleasure of reproducing this moment in media.
My first sketch of Henry and Cat:
It warmed my heart to make this image. Thanks to my daughter and son-in-law for capturing the moment and sharing it.
During my lessons with Ross Meyers, I wanted to learn how to paint a portrait. He had given a good lesson on drawing faces. Now I was ready to paint one. I found this photograph on Unsplash to use as a reference. (Unsplash.com is a site where photographers give permission to download and use their images. without attribution.)
I liked that it was a very clean close-up of a young man. I saved the photo in black and white format in order to simplify the values. Then I did a contour sketch at home on water color paper and brought it to class.
The first question I had was about pigments suitable for portraiture. Ross suggested yellow ochre, burnt sienna, alizarin crimson and burnt umber. I didn’t have the umber, so I got out payne’s gray. He demonstrated the first wash – over the face and hair. While it was drying, I moved on to another painting. I never made it back to this painting until yesterday.
Starting with the same palette, I painted the neck and the lips, brows and eyes. Next I increased the shadows and added more details to the face.
I decided that the background should be a dark color. I chose violet, but mixed it with indigo so I could get some texture and granulation.
Today I added more shadow and beard stubble, painted in the eyelashes and put a pale grey wash on the T-shirt. Here is my young man now.
While my version is not an exact rendering of the original photograph, I am very happy with this finish. He looks a bit exotic – I think it’s the long Roman nose. His face is slightly tough but with softness around his eyes.
After this effort, I am feeling more optimistic about painting people’s faces. Maybe I will try painting a family member now.
Daily Fiber 