Diary of a portrait in progress - Shelby

This is th subject of the portrait. This must be done from a photo.

Stage one is to do a rough pencil sketch the correct size and showing how the figure is to be placed on the canva. The canvas will be 24 x 36 inches. The background I will leave very plain, because there is enough color and life in the subject's face and hair and dress.

First, after drawing the exact drawing I presented to the client on the canvas, I tint it with umber to give a neutral background. Then I block in the head and the arms, the main interest in this portrait.

Because the background will be neutral and I want to get a feeling of the proper contrast, I cover the entire background with a mixture of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna -- making a neutral bluish black. This background will get many more light coats before I am done.

Now I start working on the dress. It is elaborate, but it seems appropriate for this little sprite. Notice that the edges of the skirt will overlap the dark ground color.

Here, I am working slowly down the skirt, trying to "more or less" duplicate the design. (It's not as important to duplicate the exact design of the skirt as it is to duplicate the head, so I will keep this a bit more abstract.)

At this stage, the protrait looks visibly complete. In fact, it is near done, This was taken in dimmer light, so the sort of "halo" around the head and shoulders looks more in contrast than it actually is. Actually, it is quite a subtle change.. Since I worked on this while on vacation in Florida, I have to now unstretch the canvas to transport by plane back to Virginia. The painting somes off the stretchers and is rolled, arriving safely in Virginia. I'll need to restretch it before I continue.

Here is the completed portrait.