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 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
