I was incredibly tired so decided to use my painting from class as my daily. I also thought this would be a good opportunity to actually show something from my figure painting class. I feel like I’m making a lot of progress now that I’m painting outside of class, it really makes a difference.

This was my first time doing a portrait in class, typically I’m working full figure and also trying to suggest some sort of environment. Like a lot of artists, I find the head, hands, and feet really difficult. I liked the models face and had a nice position, so I thought I’d try and tackle a portrait. We had about 2 hours for the pose, broken up into 20 min segments. I tried to make sure that within that first 20 mins I had all my proportions and placement figured out.

My teacher is allergic to oil paint (more specifically the smell of linseed oil), so I’m using Golden (brand) open acrylics. They stay wet longer than regular acrylics, but still nowhere near the way oils do. I was getting frustrated at times as the paint was drying too quickly and becoming tacky. I really do prefer oils.

-A self critique-
Things that I feel worked:
General structure/proportion feels good.
Skin tones are working better.
Reflected light on forehead and underside of hat.
A decent likeness of model.
A sense of character.

Problem areas:
Structure of nose is “off”.
Plane change of cheekbone on screen right feels too abrupt.
Mustache/beard has no transition, thus feels more pasted on face.
Something about the neck feels off, like it’s too thin.

18″ x 24″
Oil on canvas board
Portrait of Dave