Portrait Lesson IV

July 29, 2019mayhewjnm 2 Comments

Finally finished! I feel my version looks a bit more intense than the original, maybe slightly more worried. The more I look at it, the more changes I see I could make to match the original more accurately. Whilst that seems to lead to a never-ending project, it is also one of the wonderful aspects of drawing or painting that I love; the more you look, the more you see, and you really come to know and appreciate that object in a different way than previously.

Portrait Lesson III

July 17, 2019mayhewjnm 4 Comments

Her eyes make a big improvement! It was so great to see ‘life’ appear in her face!

Portrait lesson II

July 7, 2019mayhewjnm 2 Comments

She’s moved towards looking more life-like! We worked on shadows on the face and neck, the hair and the background. There is so much good information; the time is extremely enjoyable and just flies by!

One change I’ve made, following Kari’s example, is to start using a vertical palette. This is so the painting and the palette are seen in the same light, and to bring the paint colors closer to be judged more accurately. My vertical palette is actually just my horizontal Masterson palette mounted on an easel. The glass mixing plate is held in place by magnets; the magnets under the glass are glued to the palette. I like using it this way.

Lessons with Kari Rajkumar, Spring 2019

July 1, 2019mayhewjnm 1 Comment

I’ve had the great pleasure of having four lessons with Kari Rajkumar, from Paris IL, this spring (Feb, March, May and June). She is an accomplished artist in oil portraits. I first saw her paintings on display in Terre Haute last fall and knew right away that I’d like to learn from her.

We decided to delay starting lessons until after Christmas. It worked out best for her to come to my home, which was very convenient for me! We worked on a copy of a portrait by John Singer Sargent, each working on our own painting. She instructed and described processes as we went along in the 3 hour lessons.

I learnt so much great information about oil paintings and portraits in particular. I also benefitted from applying those to my other paintings, which Kari would then critique for me. That was really helpful.