Next Painting - Part 2 - Draw Paint Academy

In part 1, I shared the reference photos I plan to paint from. Now I need to do some sketches and color studies. This is all about getting a feel for the subject before committing to a more serious painting.

First, I did a quick sketch in charcoal, zooming in on her facial features. Drawing is one of the most cost-effective methods of exploring the subject and practicing in general. Painting is much more expensive! It also allows you to focus on the most important aspect in art: value (the balance of light and shadow). If you can get the values right, then you are 80% of the way there when it comes to the actual painting.

The sketch is rough, but it does a decent job of capturing her likeness and character. It looks to me like Arabella. With portraits, if the artwork doesn’t look and feel like the subject, then it all falls over, no matter how intricately you render it.

Then I did four color studies. While the drawing focused on Arabella’s facial features, these color studies focused on everything else and the overall color theme. Why four? Because I wanted to test out subtle variations in the colors and composition. These studies are an effective way of rapidly sorting through ideas and seeing what they actually look like on the surface. Often an idea will seem great in your head, but it doesn’t end up translating well to the painting.

These studies are also great for opening up and painting fearlessly. The outcome doesn’t matter, so you can truly relax and see where the brush takes you. (I go into more detail on doing studies like this to explore your ideas in Landscape Painting Masterclass.)

In the final email of this mini-series, I’ll walk you through the more detailed study I’m working on. And after that, I’ll be ready to start a large studio painting featuring Arabella.

I’m sharing this because often there’s a lot that goes into a painting before the start that most artists won’t share. But it’s all important and contributes to the final painting.

Thanks for reading!