Friday, January 11, 2013

TV Head 1

























I had mentioned on my last post that I'd been struggling with a
portrait to give as a gift (this isn't it) so I've been practicing
painting heads I photograph from the TV. I was too attached to
getting a likeness with the portrait and realized it was creating a
barrier to learning about skin tones and temperature not to mention
making my blood pressure rise. With the TV heads, I'm not
attached to a likeness so feel freer to play around, make mistakes.
It takes practice to shoot them so there's no moiré pattern in the
photo reference but they're usually beautifully lit, speaking or
otherwise emoting. This is the first one that feels finished, painted
in three layers, using zinc white for its transparency in the top layer.
No struggle with this and I'm hoping to get back to the portrait soon.


7 comments:

Linda Popple said...

I've thought about doing this because the lighting is soooo much better than mug shots. Glad to see that you are doing it and doing it beautifully! Hope to see more!

Anne Winthrop Cordin said...

This is beautiful!I often notice what amazing lighting is used on the sets, hmmm!

Ann Rogers said...

Have had a nice tour of your blog this morning to see what you've been up to. All great work. You inspire me at the way your practice to loosen your strokes...such a monumental task. It is an ongoing struggle, maybe because we were taught to color in between the lines and we can't go beyond???

Carol Flatt said...

Bravo, Lorraine! I am mesmerized by the skin tones. This is just unbelievable, and the emotion shown on her face is palpable! We have discovered a lot of foreign films and BBC productions (i.e. Bramwell) have incredible lighting. The French film "Sequins" is another example.

hmuxo said...

This is a wonderful portrait with lovely skin tones...Excellent work!!

Susan said...

Love this, Lorraine!

Crazy RAvens Studio said...

This is a great idea Lorraine. Just the idea of mugshots are rather grim. But what a great way to get "models".