First he named 2 main obstacles to overcome for successful portraits.
1. Likeness
2. Freshness
2. Freshness
Then his solutions for overcoming these obstacles...
1. Likeness-
Do 5-6 studies of the subject first.
Learn which mass dominates the head.
Know the structure of the nose, mouth, eyes and ears.
He writes that after 5-6 tries he can finally reach a good likeness.
(If it took Edgar Whitney 5-6 studies to get it right, why do I have to force myself to do one?)
2. Freshness-
He writes that you should give yourself a 20-30 minute time frame to finish a portrait.
In that short time you have to be able to get the shapes right without much worry about detail.
I love this post and I am off to look for the book:)
ReplyDeleteWonderful advice. Thank you Joanne !
ReplyDeleteGreat advice! I get frustrated the first time around when I don't get the likeness I want and then I give up. I will just have to get back up on the horse and realize that it takes a few tries!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post.
Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteWhitney WAS amazing, thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteThis is a terrific post! I'd like to add something Ted Nuttall said in my workshop: in every watercolor portrait he goes through 4 or 5 phases of believing he's totally Lost It... but as he keeps going, it turns into his wonderful paintings.
ReplyDeleteOff to see if I can find this book! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a great point Phyllis- it's something we talk about a lot in class...being patient through the ugly phases. The last few days I have been taking pictures of work in the ugly state for a future post.
ReplyDeleteWe artists have to learn to be patient with our selves and our work and let it come together in it's own time.
Great advice! And I do the same thing, trying to get a likeness in one sitting! Thanks for the post and I too will need to find this book!
ReplyDeleteGood advice, and good post,
ReplyDeleteShort, precise, I should remember it...
I agree - this is a very helpful post. Thanks so much! nancy
ReplyDelete