Self-Portrait Project Part 2
Hello All,
Yes, it’s complete! I finished it yesterday and now to let the final wet areas dry and then I can send it off!
Step 8 and Step 9: Paint & Tweak. I reworked some of the sans colour areas and I also painted the edges. I ended up tweaking the dark areas by making them “more” dark, ie. adding a little more dark grey and in some cases black. Again, did not use an “out of the tube” black but instead I decided to mix Van Dyke Brown and Ultramarine Blue together to make a lovely shade of black, that turns into gray when I add white (either Zinc or Titanium White).
For the sides I decided to go with vertical stripes that vary in colour. I entertained the idea of using an interesting floral pattern, since I’m found of flowers but I thought that might distract from the portrait. Stripes seemed less intrusive and fit with the “lined” look of the paint application. Also, instead of using oils I decided on acrylic paint since I wanted the drying time to be quick. My colour choices were limited to four, to make things again, less distracting and overly complicated. I chose colours that I like a great deal and limiting that choice to four wasn’t as tough as I thought it would be! Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Turquoise Blue and Red-Violet were the colours I decided on BUT I also mixed those colours together for transitional areas creating Chartreuse, Lavender, and Red-Orange…three additional colours that I am drawn to 🙂
Even though I stated I was DONE, that wasn’t entirely true because I STILL need to complete Step 10.
Step 10: Add hardware. Before I can complete this step I need to wait until the front of the painting is 100% dry. I’m planning to add a sawtooth hook as the hanging hardware but in order to that I have to place the canvas paint side down. You see how that could be a problem :S
Here is my final painting, what do you think? Does it look like me?
Self-Portrait, 2012
Self-Portrait (side view)
Self-Portrait (3/4 view, left)
Self-Portrait (3/4 view, right)
3 Responses to "Self-Portrait Project Part 2"
Nicely done Zorica! It looks just like you. The striped border is a nice touch and makes you look like you’re wrapped in ribbon. Good luck with the show!
I love it! So colourful and expressive. Thanks for sharing your process!
Thanks for the comments ladies. I really enjoyed painting this self-portrait. I’ve only done a few in my life, so it’s nice to add a recent one to the mix! Maybe I will try to complete one every year?
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