January 2009
Female Portrait Three
by Allison Alexandra
Please Scroll down to find a synopsis of the process of Painting a Female Portrait.
Here is a Female Head and Shoulders Portrait which is also a vignette. The subject is Donna Bird. The background is abstract.
Please click on the link to the right for an enlargement.
Portrait of Donna Bird
20" x 16", Acrylic
by Allison Alexandra
One. Consultation
Donna was a very enthusiastic and nice subject. She sat in a variety of seated poses. I had to tell her (as I have told most subjects) that artists do not want people have a big smile for portraits.
Historically, poses with teethy smiles are not optimal for formal portraiture. When the muscles which activate the smile around the mouth are frozen in a pose, the face may appear awkward. It was a shame in that she had a terrific smile and a good sense of humour.
Nevertheless, I was able to catch a classical gesture, great shadows, and a somewhat far away gaze.
Two. Sketch
This image shows a simplistic charcoal sketch of the pose selected for this subject. The details will be worked out later on.
Beginning artists have asked me how does one capture a darker skin tone like this? I have found that adding Burnt Sienna to the usual combination of Titanium White, Napthol Red Light, and Naples Yellow will work nicely. A small amount of Ultramarine Blue was also added for
facial highlights.
Three. Basic Block-in
I placed a light brown gradation in the background to start, considering that it would resonate with the dark skin tone.
Pthalo Green and Alizarin Crimson were mixed to make a rich, dark coloring for the black hair. Hair highlights of Light Blue Violet and the like were also added.
I liked the progression of this portrait and the cool color of the shirt. However, I felt like the strong blue was beginning to detract from the head which I planned to be the center of attention.
Four. Finished Portrait
The resolution that I found was to turn this painting into a vignette, which means it was no longer painted to the edge of the canvas. There was now a semi-oval shape to the torso.
It worked. Donna and her family told me that they loved it.
As for the background, it seemed to benefit from being a darker value for the lights and darks of the face to show through. This mottled light blue-beige abstract texture appeared to enhance the face. Care was taken to integrate the hair with the background. The necklace was added.
Highlights on the face were touched up to ensure that the strongest lights hit at the top of the head and less light on the nose and chin. Splashes of blue were also added as reflected light on the chin and neck. Shadows and edges were softened and deepened.
Portrait of Donna Bird
20" x 16", Acrylic
by Allison Alexandra