Lorna A Roberts

The Christmas tree is down and back in the cellar which means I have space in the living room to set out my easel and chair. I’d left things before Christmas in the form of an unfinished solo portrait of my niece, Alexa.

I had started with a gridded up copy I did by eye from my phone onto the canvas. Then I’d painted a first thin layer in acrylics, which you’ll see below. Just a rough plotting for the darks and lights. I could have done with being more subtle and adding the layers in more finely as there’s not too much definition going on…

I painted a layer with pure oils from the tube. But I made the mistake of having the easel turned away from the window so I was sitting in my own shadow. It left a clunky, unrefined mess. Plus I was struggling with the paints moving around under my brush. I wasn’t to know that this could have been me being too close and holding the brush too close to the ferrule, not allowing the paint to sit on top of the previous strokes.. I don’t have a picture which is rather remiss of me.

So today, I tried using the walnut oil for the first time. Just a small drop in each colour, more in the white because i put more white out on my palette. And I have to say, I was impressed. Not by my painting, but the consistency was lovely and blended well. I also sat in my chair and used the brush with more purpose, holding the brush further back. So now I have a semi-finished portrait.

Taking a photo is beneficial as I can objectively compare the painting with the reference photo. What I see, aside from the need to push my darks darker on the left side of the face, is that the the left side of her face is fatter than in reality, so needs a bit of shaving down which I can do with her hair.

So, I’ll return to her in the morning. I ran out of light this afternoon quite early and had to finish by overhead light which I’m wary of in case I’m perceiving the colours incorrectly. Therefore, I’ll start earlier tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by! How was your own holiday, if you celebrate. Any works in progress you’d care to share? I’d love to hear.