Little Boy
10x8
oil on canvas paper
Okay, so this is my second attempt at a portrait. A couple of months ago I joined an online challenge called Following the Masters and worked from a portrait of the Madonna by Raphael (you can see my entry here). This portrait I am showing today was not for any online challenge, but just an exercise for myself using a photo I had of this cute little boy. At any rate, I am relatively happy with the result because there is actually a resemblance! The problem is I have somehow aged him by a few years! I don't exactly know what I did to make him look older than he is, but never-the-less I have done something. So at this point the only people that would ever commission me to paint their portrait would be teenagers because they always want to come across older than they really are! People 25 and older are going to steer clear away from me unless I improve! All silliness aside, I'm pleased that my brush strokes stayed looser in this painting as compared to the Madonna painting. Also, I think the end result is pretty good considering I did virtually no under-painting or any pencil sketch on the canvas paper before I began. Having said all of that, I know I have a long way to go! I have tons to learn about using colour in portraits and using brushstrokes to convey the image in an interesting and dynamic way. There is something not right with the eyes... possibly not quite the same size or shape? As well, in the photo the head was cropped at the top, so I followed that (I really didn't misjudge the placement of the head on the page!) I'd love to hear some feedback... so please, if you have time, leave a comment or email me. The link to my email can be found on my profile page.
I admit that when I was at the studio last week I allowed myself to get sidetracked by this portrait. I hit a snag with my large canvas in that I am overwhelmed by it! Rather than muscling through the tough stage I just turned my back on it and started something new! What can I say? I can procrastinate with the best of them! In my defense, though, I nearly gave up on the portrait several times... but didn't, so I guess I have some kind of staying power. As I moved around the 10x8 paper working on various parts of the face I remember some self-talk kind of like this: "Man, noses are hard!", "Jeez, eyes are impossible!", "No, it's the lips... lips are hard!", "You are brutal at chins", "Ears. Are. Hard." And so it went until I had hit upon every single possible part of the face thus coming to the conclusion that portraits are hard! But...
...it was fun!
