Gathering Inspiration
About two years ago, I came across an artist on YouTube named Daria Callie, who paints realistic portraits with oil paints. Immediately, I felt entranced by the colour and life she brings to the faces she paints, as well as her organized artistic processes. I watched video after video and dreamt of being able to paint like that someday.
I also had the honour of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art this past summer, and saw many inspiring and beautiful paintings there.
However, there was really something about the portraits I saw that stirred up the most excitement within me.
But you see, portraits intimidate me. I have spent my entire life being far too scared to brave the world of painting and drawing faces, partially because there are few things more awkward than attempting to draw a person and ending up brutally offending them instead. The room for error with realistic portraiture is practically microscopic because even the smallest mistake in the proportions of the face of a person you look at every single day can be noticeable. On top of that, I frequently find myself crippled by perfectionism and thus a fear of trying new things with the possibility of failure.
A few weeks ago, some strange desire in me tossed that fear to the sidelines, and I decided that my art focus in Studio this semester was going to be portraiture. I’m not entirely certain what it was that drew me to it so strongly. I was still so terrified by the reality of it, and yet so in love with the idea of it.
Practice Makes Perfect
I started the semester off by practicing some basic technical skills. Oil painting is a new medium for me, so I needed to get used to how it blends and dries. I practiced my colour mixing abilities by choosing a random object and attempting to mix an identical shade with paint.
After some practice with exploring values, matching shades, and studying famous portraits, I picked up my brush and tried painting a part of the face of my younger cousin.
This moment was when I realized that portraiture is actually something that I could do. The excitement I had grew even more, and I felt much more confident about starting my first official Studio project.
The Journey Begins, The Struggles Continue
The person I have decided to paint for my first project is my grandfather. He is an incredibly special person in my life, and has progressively become extremely ill over the last couple years.
This painting will go to my grandmother as a gift when it’s finished, as a reminder of the lasting impact he’s made on all of our lives and to carry on his memory.
My first step after finding a reference photo was to edit it. The image I got from my grandmother was monochromatic with a strong sepia tint, but I wanted to paint it in colour. I found a random free online photo colourizer, and it gave me a surprisingly decent result. Using a digital program called Procreate, I fixed the skin tones and eye colour to make his colouring true to life.
I printed my reference picture in the appropriate size, transferred the main shapes to my canvas, and mixed up paint colours, fully preparing myself to bring my vision to life!
I know that portraiture is very challenging. I already encountered numerous obstacles before my paint had even touched the canvas. But I‘m excited by the opportunity to develop my versatility as an artist and create a piece that is deeply meaningful to me!