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35cm x 27cm Oil on Canvas board
I knew how I wanted this painting to look from the very start.
Ursula had kindly agreed to come and sit for me at the studio and my mission with this portrait was to do another work from life rather than my more common material – photographs.
The painting got off to a good start. I felt the benefit from having my model in the studio, it certainly gave a much more personal attachment to the painting and was more fun. Ursula is a very talented artist herself so we had plenty to chat about as I worked.
I managed to get all the ground work down during the sitting and I was able to figure out the skin tones and add some colour.
There is so much more information coming at you when you paint from life but I try to keep it under control by trusting my instincts. If I suddenly see ultramarine blue in her hair then I put it on the canvas, see how it looks and adjust it accordingly.
Ursula was with me for about 3 hours and of course ultimately I shot some photographs of the sitting to help me complete the painting later.
I had plenty of time to do this painting, so over the following weeks I worked on it when I could. New layers had time to dry before I did more, and I really got a lot of value from setting it aside for periods of time whilst I worked on other stuff.
Each time I came back to it I saw the painting with fresh eyes and was able to make adjustments and move it on.
Over Christmas it sat in my studio for quite a while almost complete - just out of the corner of my eye. A couple of weeks ago I put it back on the easel and in 20 minutes it was done.
If anyone local is interested in joining in on my workshops drop me a line on steve@focaleye.com
