Nothing fascinates me more as an artist than painting from a live model. There is an unspoken dialogue that happens between model and artist, the model expressing emotion, the artist trying to capture and translate that emotion on paper or canvas.

Painting from life is much different than painting from a reference photo. People are not static like photographs. Over the course of a model session, the model may shift slightly, the lighting may change, and at the end of the session, the reference has gone home. Working from life, however, affords an artist a richness of detail and emotion that is difficult to capture from photographs, so while it is a great challenge, it is worth the effort and time.

"36 Heads" is a project I hope to complete in one year- painting 36 portraits from life.

Many artists show only their best art to the public. This blog is an attempt to offer a glimpse into the artistic process itself. Some portraits will be successful, many will not. I do not touch up the art after the model session is over- the artwork is taken home and photographed without adding finishing touches.

So many things come into play as to why some sessions are a success, others not. The atmosphere of the session, my energy level that day, even the mood of the model, these things and many more affect the final painting. Sometimes I experiment with different materials, which leads to different results.

The project began on July 26, 2011. On to the heads...



Wednesday, September 21, 2011

"36 Heads", portrait #10





















September 20, 2011, Heidi
Terry Ludwig and Unison soft pastels on PastelMat
11"x14"

Heidi sat for us indoors, the usual 3 hour session with breaks every 20 minutes.  Hands on painting time for this one was under two hours because I had to leave early.  This is the fourth time I've painted Heidi since July, and think this is the best likeness yet.  Overall this one was a pleasure to paint, and Heidi seems easier to paint each time.  I now understand why artists like to use the same model over and over, becoming familiar with one's subject allows one to work more confidently each time .  Heidi isn't a model that gets into dynamic poses, but she always wears interesting clothing, almost never needs correcting when getting back into position after a break, and sits quite still- really an ideal model for portrait painting.  The headscarf in real life was a bright magenta and purple, but I didn't have proper colors with me so used muted reds instead.  This was bothering me the whole session, wanting to paint those bright and bold colors, but not having the right pastel sticks.  However, the muted tones used for the headscarf have grown on me, and I'm now pleased with the results.  This is the first portrait in the series that doesn't feel finished.  The background needs to be darkened in areas, the headscarf and hair refined.  These are things I normally leave until the last sitting for the session, which I missed because of leaving early.  I've become quite fond of PastelMat and Terry Ludwig pastels- I wasn't too happy with the Ludwig pastels intially, but find myself reaching for them more and more over the Unisons since switching to PastelMat.  Next week on the schedule is a model named Jonqui, who has dyed, flaming red hair. I've painted her in figure painting sessions a few times using watercolor, and once using Rembrandt pastels- it will be fun to see what happens next week when using the Ludwigs and PastelMat!
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1 comment:

  1. Sara MathewsonFebruary 4, 2012 at 10:26 PM

    Barbara,

    I've been reading through your posts and of course looking at your portraits and I have to say this is my favorite and the best of Heidi! i don't think it's always necessary to finish the background or the clothing on a portrait. You are getting better and better!

    Sara

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