Scott Bartner

All of this talk recently about paper has infected me as well. Below is a demonstration of an oil sketch of my daughter Eva at 4 ½ years of age using underpainting and glazing.

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Scott Bartner

I’m using gessoed, Saunders Waterford watercolor paper, with an orange ocher ground. The picture plane is 30cm. by 26cm. (The preparation of the paper on panel I once wrote about. See: http://forum.portraitartist.com/sho...=&threadid=3281)

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Scott Bartner

Working from a reference photo, the drawing is blocked in using burnt umber and developed until the contrast is dark and strong.

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Scott Bartner

If I were painting a more formal portrait I’d probably spend several days on the drawing alone.

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Scott Bartner

Before I start “highing up” the drawing with white, I need to be sure everything is in the right place. A mirror behind me usually let’s me know if the drawing is off in any way.

Establishing a background early on is extremely important since the flesh tone will be determined relative to what’s around it. Having washed it in, I’ve pick up some of the wet paint with masking tape to reveal the orange ground.

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Scott Bartner

Building up the dry underdrawing in white is the most difficult and time consuming stage of the portrait. In this case, I’m using four whites, 1) Titanium mixed with Oleopasto, 2) Pure Titanium, 3) a 2 to1 mix of Titanium and Zinc, and 4) Pure Zinc. I begin with the lightest lights and work gradually into the half tones.

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Scott Bartner

If I were a teacher I’d tell my students to resist painting high lights, catch lights, hair clips, etc. at this early stage, but I can’t resist myself and it’s my work--so I’ll do what I want.

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Scott Bartner

Rembrandt used very thick lead-based white paint ground to his specifications at the local molenaar (miller). I’m using W&N Oleopasto to simulate this thick white albeit sparingly out of concern it may yellow. I normally don’t use a thickener for commissioned work, but in this case I want my brushwork to show, particularly where the light directly strikes the face. Keep in mind though that glazing on rough topography is a daunting task. If it looks too rough, I may gently sand it. The other whites are used for the half tones and shadows.

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Scott Bartner

While I’m highing up the face I’m also making corrections. I’m also striving for believable form. To strengthen a shadow, I’ll use a dry brush to remove some of the white paint. The absence of color makes it easier to focus on getting the values down. In fact, I try to do as much work as possible on the underpainting, so that glazing becomes almost an afterthought.

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Scott Bartner

Looking carefully at my daughter from life, (it’s easy when the TV’s on), I’ve made notes how the color temperature varies and want to reflect this in a subtle way. Working wet-in-wet, I’ll add a little red in the cheek and a tempered blue near the temple and around the mouth. I’m careful not to go overboard with this to avoid a technicolor portrait. If a cheek is too red, I’ll go back into it with white.

I’m also blurring and sharpening contours attempting to pull her left eye and nose closer to the viewer while allowing the rest to recede. One of the charms of Degas’s drawings is the sudden introduction of a dark outline to a nose or chin, as if the drawing itself was to study just that one part of the anatomy. Eva’s sweater and collar are painted in very quickly leaving the orange ground exposed. The complimentary nature of the ground and the opaque blues create an interesting effect.

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