After warming up on some small landscapes, I got back into the swing of things with portrait work by reviewing the portrait of Lockkeeper.

The portrait is currently in the dead layer phase and was about half finished before we went to Michigan. I had hoped to have the dead layer completed by then, but even using a rapid dry white made with alkyd requires a few days to dry.

The last work was done on October 12, so it was well dried and ready for work on October 22, when I got back to it. I worked on the head, attempting to place lights and darks in a more convincing manner.

That work was completed this evening (October 23). I had to repaint the surrounding background as well, but that allowed me to reshape some of the edges and to make better use of lost edges.

There may still be a bit of tweaking necessary in the next session, but when I stopped work for the day this evening, I was prepared to consider the head done.

On to the neck and beyond!

I’ve seen in my work with Buckles & Belts and Impulsion that it’s to my benefit to do as much detail as possible in the dead layer so the subsequent glazes can truly be transparent with a minimum of opaque passages.

I’ve also seen that it’s very easy to go too dark in the early phases of the painting process and that lightening values later is very difficult.

So the focus of work this time around was developing the details on the horse and lightening the values as necessary, beginning with the eye. I also worked the head and ears.

I am also actively marketing portrait work, so if you would like your favorite horse, dog, cat or other animal companion captured in oils, contact me or visit the Horse Portraits page on this blog. The information on that page applies to all portrait work, regardless of subject.

If you have questions, contact me. I’ll be happy to discuss your ideal portrait with you.

©Copyright 2009 by Carrie Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.