‘Same Same. The Other Twin.’
The eyes have it! Carmel shows how to capture someone's personality through paints.
Ienjoy working from life. Occasionally though, I find a photograph that grabs my attention. was captivated by the straightforward gaze of Marnie in this photo. Her eyes and body language told of the quiet confidence of her personality. My goal was to capture those eyes and create a likeness. The original photo was taken on a holiday in the Solomon Islands. We were visiting Marnie’s identical twin sister. Wherever the twins went the Islanders would stop them. “Same same?” (Twins?) , was constantly asked. Thus the title, “Same same. The other twin”
I loved the photograph as a photo, yet I did not want to do a slavish representation of all the details.
Using Microsoft Office Picture Manager I made adjustments and comparisons, cropping and altering midtones and contrasts. When happy
with the results, I printed out three different greyscale pictures to work from. Each one had a different purpose. One defined the outlines, another for the midtones and another that picked out the highlights. I planned to alter the colours completely from the original photo and felt it was best not to refer to it while painting. Keep in mind the goal. Get those eyes!
STEP ONE
A small greyscale sketch helped with values and loosened me up. I drew the image onto the canvas with a water soluble pencil.
STEP TWO
Using Atelier Pyrrole Alizarine and Titanium white acrylic, I underpainted the canvas. I attempted to break the image into its values without the interference of colour contrasts. I wanted the warmth of the Alizarine to shine through the planned greens, blues and yellows of the finished work.
STEP THREE
With the acrylic underpainting dry, it was time to have fun with oils. I love the buttery feel of oils on the
canvas. I always work with minimum colours. In this case; Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Permanent Blue and Spectrum Red with Liquol Medium.
STEP FOUR
At this stage all logic goes out the window. Colour does that to me. I have no systematic way of working a painting apart from applying the basic rules for the medium I am using. I have read of artists who start from top left to bottom right of the canvas. That doesn’t work for me. I try hard to quickly colour the canvas and go back in with detail. This way I can see if my colour plan will work.
Once satisfied that the colour is harmonious, I work whatever section of the canvas grabs my attention. I enjoy the development of the portrait. It feels like sculpting in two dimensions. With paint I can shape a head, make eyes appear round and a nose appear to stand out from the face. I follow the contours of the face with my brush stroke.
STEP FIVE
When working the detail, I constantly ask questions. What colour is in that shadow? How do I make the left side recede? Have I got my values right? I squint to check. Are my proportions accurate? I turn the painting and photo upside down and work into problem areas. This way I only focus only on shapes and negative spaces. I often find myself talking aloud as I resolve problems I encounter. At times I need to step outside and re-focus my eyes. Issues resolve themselves with a fresh outlook. I use a rigger brush to fine tune details such as hair and highlights.
My portrait of Marnie developed mainly from the centre of the face outwards. My goal was those eyes. I think I got them!