WIP portrait

Hello all
A quiet thank you  to everybody who is so kind as to follow my blog ... and to those who left the sweet thoughtful comments...
I have been asked many times about how I paint portraits without any under sketching,  and about my techniques ... well ... I haven´t settled on MY technique yet ... like many out there I am experimenting with the many many techniques in this magical medium ... watercolours ... and every time I pick up my brush I learn a littly or discover a new trick that might or might not work.

I this portrait I used a vry wet wash of cad red mixed wirh a little burnt sienna ad a touch of yellow ochre for the skin tone ...  I drop in some ceruleu blue for the part of the face that is in the shade ...

I start with midtones because I usually leave the lighter tones as white paper. At the same time I start to paint negative shapes to define the other side of the face which is the backgroud.

Now I start to paint the features ... eyes,nose and lips ... painting away from the whites that I want to preserve ... at the same time just hinting at the glasses ... I try to copy the shapes without too many details.

Here I also drop in more colour in the skin tones .I let it dry completely

I put in the darkest tones, and shadows ... it looks  terrible at this stage ... but I lay a wash of clean fresh water all over the face aroud the features to soften the brush marks... and tweak in general

The final result

11 by 7 bockingford 140lb CP in lefranc et bourgouis artist´s wtercolours

Portrait paintings

Hi Everybody
Thank you to everyone who is kind enough to follow my blog and leave a comment, your comments mean a lot to me.
Today I am thinking about portraits... why do so many artists find them hard to master or do?
The face for a start is a very small area full of features forms and shapes ... you have to get the proportions exactly right so your portrait looks believable not to mention likeness ... then you have to get the perspective right, then each feature has to be perfectly rendered and placed.. Oh and the posture! te model has to look relaxed and natural. We are still at the drawing stage so far ... after you get the drawing to look really good you can  start painting.
While paining you have to consider skin tones, values, shapes, and shadows,and to top it all off you get to breath life into it ... still think its hard???
I know many skilled and renowned artists who cannot do the figure/ face the same like they do still life or animal portraits or lanscapes.
I guess it needs years of practice,  and of course sketching everywhere you go, and painting everyday to get there...
I usually get inspiration from many portrait artists and each time I marvel at the standard of their skill.
I can never gire of looking and feeling inspired by TedNutall´s work. Take a look.
http://www.tednuttall.com/paintings%20page%201.html