Thursday 13 November 2014

Portrait Of Emma.

I have painted this portrait of Emma from a photo. I found it quite difficult to do the initial drawing because her head is at an unusual angle, not only three-quarter face,
but her head is down too. Many artists would struggle with this. I know this because I read it somewhere.
Emma And The Red Telephone. By John Bain
Oil on canvas.
20x16in
Click to enlarge
The other difficulty was that whenever I see Emma she is usually smiling and she has the most beautiful eyes. Neither of which is in this portrait.
I actually find it easier to paint eyes open than closed. Funny that, but true.
Did you know that most artists find it difficult to paint a profile portrait? I read that somewhere too, but also know it from experience. But it is good to have a challenge.
You can see how I struggled by looking at the white canvas. In the end I gave up and made a grid on the photo. This is something I only do on rare occasions. It did help. I ought to do it more often, but it feels a bit like cheating to me. I know a lot of artists use the grid method, but I do pride myself on my freehand drawing.
I like the finished result here but more importantly Emma likes it too.














9 comments:

  1. John, this is a remarkable portrait --beautifully done. Thanks for sharing it!

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  2. Wow, I think this is a masterpiece. Really, really good.

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  3. My mother used to say that portraits are the most difficult to draw (she liked working in charcoals). You captured this young woman beautifully. No wonder she liked the painting.

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  4. Beautifully done! You do portraits very well and I loved the recent one of Mia too.

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  5. This is a really beautiful portrait. Glad Emma likes it!

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  6. John, it is a wonderful painting. No-one would know you had any sort of problem whilst painting it. I hope you display it somewhere where the world can see it. Or will you sell it?

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  7. Thank you Valerie. Emma likes the painting so I shall give it to her as a gift.

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  8. Very nice portrait of Emma....well done John.
    The sense of accomplishment after struggling with a hard task is one to be treasured.

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  9. I agree with previous commenters.... very nice. I've tried to do portraits too, it's really difficult!

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