Oil Portrait Study

Study of Lauren
Oil on Linen

I host a weekly life drawing group in my studio on Mondays.  We're just a small group of friends who enjoy each other's company.  Often our poses go for up to six weeks so that members can do polished drawings or paintings from the pose.  This time, though, we ran the pose for four weeks.  Now I know that there are a lot of very good alla prima portrait artists out there but I'm not usually given to alla prima work.  Well, yes, I used to be an alla prima painter but in recent years, I've changed my style to that of a more polished look so I'm badly out of practice on alla prima portraits. 

I do like to do studies every so often and I have decided to dedicate every other session to just painting from the model rather than drawing. This study of our model, Lauren is the first in a long time.  I try in these little pieces to focus on the bigger picture and limit myself to just a couple of brushes.  Basically I use three.  I have a 1 1/2 inch for the background and other larger shapes and a 1/2 inch for the medium shapes and a 1/4 inch brush for the smaller shapes.  I'm learning to wield the larger ones with more finesse and I resist the urge to go to smaller brushes.  Usually I can achieve a fine line when needed by turning the brush on it's edge.  So much more to learn here.  

Head Study in Oil

Study of Anna Marie

Oil on Paper


Sometimes I just need to practice and so I whip out a piece of oil paper (Arches) and throw it up on the easel.  If I'm lucky enough to have someone I can nail down to a chair, I'll paint from life. If not, I'll put up one of my many photos of my favorite models and friends on a large vertical monitor and place it back a bit from my easel. The goal is to do the sketch directly onto my surface and then paint into it.

I was pretty happy with the way this one came out although it didn't quite meet all my expectations or goals. Still - practice is practice and the more mileage on a brush, the better the magic it makes.  

Practice and all that Jazz

Here's a little portrait I did for practice the other day. Her name is Bridgette. She's a friend and former student and has perfect bone structure. I enjoy doing these little portraits because I can get them done quickly. I took a break from a very large project I've been working on for five months. Haven't gotten much else done but I'm almost finished and it will be good to get back to smaller projects that are more speedily completed.

"Bridgette"