1st Oil Painting – Portrait Study – 5 august 22
Sooooo… After delaying this project for so long, I finally got into oil painting. It always seemed to me a side of art that was reserved for “professionals”, “the best of the best”… But I dared to try, for the sake of learning more about painting and catch a glimpse of what I can/could do, unexpectedly…
Reference – 1st Oil Painting
Here is the reference we’re going to draw from. It gives off a vintage/rich/victorian vibe that decided me to start on this basis.
You can find the link to the reference photo, by Luke Braswell, on Unsplash.
Painting Process – 4 stages
Sketching Phase
First, sketching the face outlines. When satisfied, let’s try to block out some colours.
Colour Picking
Click here
I mostly chose them based on the color skin reflections in the daylight: I didn’t really respect the shades from the reference at this stage.
Blending Phase
Now, we blend the colours and place the eyes/nose/mouth positions. Next step…
Into Life
That is when the portrait becomes livelier: the red and the greenish blue contrast well and provide a more assertive expression.
Click here
Then, I insisted on creating a background (also not to waste all the oil painting I got out for this first try 😋).
Final Result
Here is the final result! I really enjoyed making such a textured (what I love about oil painting) and colorful background. I am aware that the resemblance is quite weak. However, I find the overall result impressive for a first try.
Thank you for Reading
This first try motivated me to explore more oil painting. I will see you soon with more accurate projects. Bye!