alexudal

 

 Outlining, starting hair on the forehead -- too early. Shadows cast from them must be established first.

Outlining was started with oil pastel dipped in oil. Some liner/rigger work, too. Everything should also toned down: it's a painting, not a drawing.

 Touched where it's needed and varnished, this copal-oil portrait is ready for the market at $200+.

 Source: B/W photo
Base substrate: canvassed board, triple gessoed (acrilic buff white, plus last layer of light beige, or whatever they call it -- in big cans, meant for wall painting)
Underdrawing: graphite covered with washes of burnt umbra
Underpainting: burnt umber, French ultramarine

Broad washes of Holbein #319 Neutral Gray, quite thin at this stage (session 3), as the (presumably) pale skin tone of the object is very unforgiving if tune it too cool or too warm.

Collecting the "correct" palette for the next session. I don't like using solid blacks in painting because I'm pretty sure that whenever I see blacks in a finished "painting", it's simply not a painting I look at, but it's lesser imitation: a coloured drawing. So every time I need something very dark, I look for whatever supposition, or close counter -- but not a mechanical mix -- of burnt umbra and French ultramarine. The resulting intense blueish "highlights" give a warm feeling to otherwise "neutral" flesh tones. I will be trying to keep traces of them  -- and the feel -- in subsequent layers.

 It's not final, as wet-in-wet technique must be very exact, or else. That else happened -- twice.

Some face detailing and tone harmonising. Or harmonizing. Or both. Hair detailing and finishing highlights are left for the Session 13.

Any bidders/takers right now? I can turn the Session 13 into just drying and light protective varnishing, you just drop me a line.

The style throughout is called 'Socialist Hyperrealism'. School is Soviet/Russian of 1970s.

This one 24x18" LeFranc et Bourgeois oils, Grumbacher matte varnish on canvassed board is called 'Near Pleasure Point'. This Pleasure Point is an actual oceanfront location of Live Oaks, CA., so it's pure (hyper)realism you see. An alternative title is, of course, "I Can See Russia From My Window". "Sea surface" part of the painting underwent a series of knifed and leveled oil paints, oil pastels, pure pigments application, so its canvas grain was fully covered, then it received 3 full glazes, plus 1 partial scumble in copal-touched paints, so it changes its hue and "depth" depending on lighting condition (transparency changes). The scale of foreground items is such as to give the "hand" a life size proportions. Price tag is [N/A]

Update: no checks whatsoever, no PayPal and the like, only $20 and smaller bills of US legal tender are accepted. I do not frame, I do not ship, I do not even pack. Thinkpad T61p (if a trade-in is accepted) can not be of dubious provenance, or of corporate property.

In other words, yes, I paint for food, only my food should be a month's supply of sterlet ukha, osetra caviar and Nemiroff vodka