Showing posts with label portrait. Show all posts

Fond Memories

It's been awhile since I've been able to pick up a paintbrush or write a blog post.

My life took an unexpected turn last Thanksgiving when I took an emergency plane ride to Florida because my older sister had called saying she thought she was dying. Her blood tests showed this was true, she was in "imminent danger" of her blood clotting. Ah, but good ol' Elise arrived, bringing some encouragement and cheer; my sister perked up and got stronger, strong enough to survive a major tumor surgery.

While not an easy time for our family, our Father answered our cries for healing and help. My sister lives! This is a painting blog so I won't bore you with medical details, gruesome photos or tales about our subsequent exhaustion. I, too, have been recovering from the 24/7 days of nursing my sister. "Drama in Real Life" used to be my favorite part of Reader's Digest magazine, but no longer. I've had enough "drama" to last my adrenals a long time! The stalwart souls who work in healthcare do a great service to the world...I have a lot of respect and gratefulness for many I've met and what I've learned over these past few months. I am also very grateful for the kind encouragement and help from friends far and near! Thank you so much!

And so, I return to my pursuit of the creation of fine art...

One of the best things about being an artist is that you can generally work ANYWHERE you happen to be. I didn't bring much luggage with me - just two small carry-on bags - but I did pack my watercolor palette and some brushes. An art illustrator's estate sale here in town provided me with some paper and then I was back illustrating a few weeks ago.

An old friend, Rebekah, asked awhile back if I'd paint her portrait with her beloved but recently deceased grandmother. I did so last year, in May. Then, last summer, news came that Rebekah's grandfather was now ill, with advanced cancer. She then asked for another portrait by which to remember him. In this post, I'll relate how my latest portrait revealed itself...

The Drawing - Laying a Foundation:

Scaling and drawing this small 14x10 1/4-sheet piece took about seven hours and because it's hard on my eyes I did it in pieces, over several days. I wasn't happy with Rebekah's face at this point, but hoped to be able to improve her likeness with the addition of color and value.



I tend to feel some anxiety before beginning the application of paint. Perhaps this is because there is a process in getting to the intense concentration needed for mixing colors. I chose six colors with care and then began with the lightest areas of the work, in this case the background wallpaper, hands and faces. Once begun, this painting went very easily and it was fun to be in the groove again!



I hear from my northern friends that March brought some unusually warm temperatures. Here in Florida it's been more than just warm. Because I needed natural lighting and couldn't find a suitable location inside the house, I painted outside in the brilliant sunshine in both late morning and late afternoon/early evening. The early part of the day was too humid (and I was usually still catching up on sleep) and mid-afternoon was blisteringly HOT - 85 to 90 degrees. I set up a sort of "tent covering" with a sheet once, but it was awfully hot.

Their clothing was the next step. I wish I had used a more "painterly" watercolor style. Because of the heat it was difficult to even keep a wash going.




Working down the page, I painted Rebekah's jeans. Thick cotton fiber provides worn spots and creases for highlights, needing lots of value changes and softening of edges. Windsor Blue-Red shade worked well because it is a staining color, which makes it easier to layer without the pigment shifting around. I also worked on Granpa's face and the clothing folds.



Then came Granpa's jeans, the piano and a mottled green carpet. The "peanut gallery" (my mom) was telling me that Rebekah's left hand looked too large...I explained that this is because it was the closest hand to the camera and that it was not yet completed. Normally, I'd suggest painting what is lightest in value first, but I was impatient and painted the jeans before completing the shading on her hand.



Now I worked on value - adding darks - to jeans, the piano, etc. I'm left-handed so perhaps this is why I painted the right-hand side of the painting last.



Finally, I added in the right side of the furniture/piano, completed Granpa's hand - which is clenching the top of the piano bench, and painted his shoes. I believe there is a good likeness of each individual. Despite my time off from painting, somehow my brain seems to learn and grow with each portrait.



It's done! Hopefully, this work for my friend, Rebekah, will bring her some comfort and fond memories of her dear Granpa, who is missed by those who knew and loved him.

One of my Vermont painting students who played snowbird in Florida this winter offered me a ride home and so I'm hoping to head north in the next couple weeks, if all goes well with my sister's continuing recovery. I have another commission request which I may begin before I leave. Until I blog again, I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Love from your painting friend,
Elise

P.S. It is my longtime habit to choose a specific portion of scripture to add underneath my autograph...for this painting I chose Psalm 118 because I've turned to it frequently, due to my sister's illness. Verse 17 was the verse that stood out for my sister, but here it is, in entirety:

1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They compassed me about like bees: they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Princess Arezo

Two summers ago I painted a portrait of a man in New York City. This painting caught the attention of a father who desired to have his daughter's portrait done by me. He told me that he has tried to find someone to accurately paint his daughter, Arezo, many times, but has thrown away the attempts because they were a poor likeness of her. 

This year she turned sixteen and her family held a party in her honor. This watercolor was based on a photograph from that celebration. It was painted with love for Arezo, and her family.


I chose just four colors for this painting - Aureolin (transparent yellow), Alizarin Crimson (cool red), Windsor Blue red shade (cool blue), and Brown Madder (warm brown). Each of these are Windsor & Newton professional grade pigment. I scaled her and then did a drawing from a photograph, as I have never met this young lady. Then I worked from light to dark on her face, shoulder and hair. I tried to keep the colors on her face warm and clear, while the color for the background was mixed to be more grayed and cooler, establishing depth.


You can see I continued to darken values in her hair, using warm and cool tones so that the highlights in her curls were preserved.


This, below, is a detail of the photograph above. I really had a good time "putting her make-up on" - the last time I put on someone's make-up besides my own was when I did make-up for a theater production of "Annie Get Your Gun", many years ago. I enjoyed playing with the colors, making her lips shine, dramatizing her eyelashes, etc! She was wearing a silver necklace and that shine was very difficult to try to portray with paint.



Now came her very beautiful and ornate dress. I mixed a bit of yellow with the red, making it more of an orange-red in places, and adding some purple hues too, being careful to preserve the jewels sewn onto the gown, which were painted before the dress, actually.


She began to take shape. This stage of the painting is always fun and also a bit tense, because I can easily ruin hours of work if not very careful. I always try to paint when I'm well-rested and keep distractions to a minimum...much of this painting was actually done outdoors in the sunshine, which made for great lighting and a much better tan, too! =)

It was fun to paint her tiara - the jewels in it shone quite a lot and so using a rainbow of colors helped achieve that effect. 



A friend of mine worked on this photo for me a little bit, righting her position - I like it!



Final stage, adding the imperatively important dark values in her hair, glazing her skin in places to even the tone and strengthen it. Adjusting values at the end of a painting is very important and the brush must have just the right amount of water - not too much, not too little. It is easy to scrub a "hole" in the previous layers of paint if the ratio is not correct.

Her dad said, after I delivered the painting, "It is not 100%, but it's close" and then he laughed. Since he knows her best, I was glad and relieved.

Arezo is so beautiful and this was a really fun portrait to paint! Capturing a specific person's character is very different from painting an animal. While it is a great challenge, I like it very much and hope to do more portraits in the near future!

Your painting friend,

Elise

P.S. It is my longtime habit to add a scripture reference to each of my paintings. Because Arezo resembled a princess to me, I chose verses from Psalm 45. When I read these to her dad, he told me, "She calls herself, 'Princess'"! And so, it is the perfect passage!


Arezo 
16x19 watercolor
 August 2011

"The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace."   ~ Psalm 45:13-15

David

David worked behind the counter at the tiny grocery store on the corner of 101st and Broadway during the year I lived in NYC. If I ran out of Spring water in my apartment, a couple times I wound up buying a couple of expensive gallons there, rather than walking 10 minutes to a larger grocery store. David was known to Bona, my doorman at my building, and good friend. David heard I was a watercolor artist and gave me a photograph of himself one of only two or three times I went into this tiny shop, asking if I could paint his portrait. Although I rarely painted people and had never tried painting someone with a lot of melanin (dark skin tone), yet I really needed commissioned work and a portrait was a good challenge. The portrait came out well...if I remember correctly it took me 10 hours to slowly paint. I brought the 10x14 piece down to his shop and he liked it, a lot. He offered me $100 for my time. I was willing to sell it for $200, but not $100. I told David I would think about his offer. He said, "You think now", pressuring me, and I was not going to be manipulated into selling below what I felt was a decent price. I quickly decided not to sell it to him, keeping the portrait...I believe it is inside our storage unit which was under 2-3 ft of water in a Vermont flood, so the original probably didn't survive.

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