While I was painting Alan 1 and Alan 2, I was looking at a pose in which Alan was looking into the mirror. The mirror reflection was all blurred and Alan himself was sharp in detail on the photograph I took. i thought this would be a good subject to capture, and have tried to give it a go. I have again used oil on canvas (size 80 x 110cm).
I tried to capture the blurred shadows of the picture by using a big brush and slapping wet oil paint onto the canvas, the technique seems to work. Don’t know I f what I have done is correct, but I have enjoyed it. Enjoyed it so much I forgot to take photos of my painting progress, so did this straight off until finished, took about 8 hours.
Well I knew I’d tweak it more! This time I think I might have finished it.
I am working in oils; the canvas is 80 x110 cm. The shot was taken of him going down the stairs, and pausing on the stairs to the front door in my home. The difficulties I have found so far are getting the right texture for his hair and beard. I have so far put a lot of time into the hair and I am now working into the beard, as you can see it is not quite right. It is all still a work in progress.
Well so far I have continued to fill in the canvas. I have tweaked the eyes a bit more, as they were too green. He has a grey green blue colour, which I am finding hard to duplicate. The jacket has also been painted in.
I have noticed that the picture looks flat, and the head rounded. His neck is too short and his nose too big so I am attempting correct this. I took the canvas into college to get the opinions of my fellow students and tutors and they agreed with my view.
I have difficulty in trying to be subtle with the use of colour and blending, tones and shadows. This is what I am attempting to do in order to sort out the flatness of the image.
However, I am worried, that with all my tinkering, it no longer looks like Alan. As so far I have stream lined the back of the head, and cheek. I have moved the (R) eye and altered the nose, but the features now look too sculptured, so I guess I will be repainting again.
Well I have turned my husband into George Micheal!!! His nose is too sculptured along with the eyebrow’s. His beard also is a bit more messy than I have painted it. So I will try and change this so I will recapture my husband again!!
Well this is it, I think I have got the result I wanted, again I will study it, and if anything looks like it needs to be changed then I will do it, or not!! Who knows!!
Well, I have managed to turn my husband into Sigmund Freud, with the hair line. It is a bit square, which is all wrong. Also I need to work on the shadows, tones of the skin, the nose look s a bit flat.
And the Ear, well, I am not going there! It looks like a rugby player’s ear. I am finding it hard to draw right, and get the correct tones.
Well, I have put some colour all over the canvas, and now I will study it to see what I need to do next.
My picture all though has a lot of character, looks flat, so I will strive to make it look more 3 dimensional. I am enjoying studying the colour mixes to get the right skin tones and shades. Alan’s face has a ruddy tone to it, so it show’s a lot of reds and yellows, he has a sun weathered face, through years of riding motorbikes, and the sun hitting his forehead and cheeks.
I think I may have finished it, but no doubt I will find something wrong or change it again. I have so far, altered his hair line, and ear. I have also dabbled more with the skin tone, trying to achieve a ruddier tone to his skin.
We will have to see where I take it next
