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Hello

Today we are going to Muse about portrait painting. If this is your first visit, welcome to Musings. If you have been here before, welcome back. Over time we are going to talk about many things: the past, the present, perhaps the future, travel, art, society and more. Wherever my musing takes me. I hope you will come along with me.

Colored text is a link. So is a word underlined in dots like “Musings” in the above paragraph. Clicking on the text will provide additional information about the subject.

Birthday

Birthdays are special, a time to celebrate and to anticipate. Jeanette’s is just around the corner . It is also our wedding anniversary so it has double significance.

We have decided to celebrate by playing in a croquet tournament in July up north. However, I wanted to do something tangible before then. My decision was to do her portrait in watercolor.

The lesson

I thought I would show you the process, sort of a miniature lesson in painting.

Watercolor is unique in that light colors are created by using thin applications of paint which allows the whiteness of the paper to create the tint. The painting is built by painting the lightest areas first and continuing to the darkest areas last. And, to create a darker shade the painter can apply multiple layers of glaze using the original color.

Getting Started

So, the first step of course is to set up the work area.

Here you see from left to right, a couple of brushes on paper towels, a strip of paper for testing the color before application, mixing bowels for glazes, a pallette, three jars of water and a spray bottle. Behind the pallette is a jar of brushes.

And now the work

On the left is the stretched paper with the start of the portrait. You can see some of the light sketch. The paper is gray because I have applied a thin wash of blue and brown (which creates gray) to tone it down.

The paper has buckled because it is wet from the application of the wash of color. When it dries, it will shrink and be pulled taut and flat. The process takes time because it is important that each layer is dry before attempting to paint over it. If it is wet the paint may lift and ruin the work.

Once the paper has dried, another wash of the same color mixture is applied but not on the areas that are to remain lightest. As you can see the image begins to build.

And again, the darker areas are covered with the same color mixture creating more definition.

At this point I have introduced a warm color wash, the first of many.

The gray underglaze establishes the basic value pattern, light s and darks. Thin washes of color are beginning to define the face. Areas such as the nose and forehead are not given as many washes as the darker parts of the face.

At this point I began to add burnt umber, raw sienna and a touch of payne’s gray to the hair.

And now green for contrast. Note that the green scarf is created by a thin wash of green over the existing dark and light value underpainting.

The darks are enhanced. Her coat is painted with a mixture of a Indanthrene blue, paynes gray and burnt sienna which reads as black but is much richer. The details of the face are delicately applied using a dry brush technique.

The gift

On a different note:

Told to me by a friend who will remain unnamed:

It had been a long, long day, and John, the truck driver, really wanted to just get home. Living in Washington D.C, he knew traffic would be bad this time of evening, but to his horror, a traffic jam reared ahead of him larger than anything he could have anticipated. Bewildered, since he hadn’t heard anything yet on the news, he stuck his head out and just kept seeing cars slowing down and then driving off. Nothing was moving.

Suddenly, a man knocked on the window. John rolled down the window and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Terrorists have kidnapped the entire US Congress!”
“Oh my gosh!” exclaimed John.
“And they’re asking for a $100 million dollar ransom.”
“Jeez Louise!” moaned John.
“Otherwise, they are going to douse them all in gasoline and set them on fire!”
“Lord have mercy!” cried John.
“We are going from car to car, collecting donations.”
“How much is everyone giving, on average?” asked John.
“About a gallon.”

more to come

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thomas-tribby.pixels.com

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GREETING CARD

Thomas-Tribby.pixels.com is now offeringCoffee Mugs, Throw Pillows, Greeting Cards, Bath Towels, Hand Towels, Shower Curtains, Duvet Covers , Yoga Mats, Tote Bags,Women’s T Shirts, Men’s T Shirtsand more with reproductions of my artwork. If you want to check them out, here are the steps:

1. Click on this link: thomas-tribby.pixels.com.
2. Click on one of the categories in the menu bar at the top: Wall Art, Home Decor, Lifestyle, Stationery or Apparel. It will list a number of options.
3. Click on option.
4. Click on image and a sizing slide will open allowing you to adjust the image to the way you like it..

Have fun.

My work is available as traditional prints on canvas, paper or metal, but it also available on greeting cards, phone covers, tote bags, shower curtains, t-shirts and more. It makes for some very personalized gifts. Below is the link to the site. I hope you like it.

Click on: thomas-tribby.pixels.com

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