Journal of My Oil Painting Techniques

Figure drawing with accuracy is always a challenge for me, especially because I rely solely on my pure vision without any means of measuring. I drew using paint today, trying my best to establish the most accurate figure drawing as possible.

Yesterday, I knew my friend Michelle was coming by to sit for me today, but I was pondering over whether I would like to do another same old study, or if there would be anything more interesting that I can start pursuing. I felt as if it was time for me to move on to doing something more than just series of studies.

I really have not found my one definite style or technique yet, as I just always love experimenting with different kinds of oil painting techniques. I like to paint the alla prima method where I would paint rapidly in a single session focusing on spontaneity and the sketchy quality of the piece, where how it’s painted becomes more important to me than what is painted. But I also like to do more realist approaches where I would work on the piece for long hours with accurate figure drawing to start off, then really polishing things up until it becomes the most realistic and true to life. Then sometimes I also love painting purely out of imagination, producing more abstract type of paintings.

Lucian Freud stated that all his works are self-portraits. Not meaning literally but as to say that his works are distinguishable by his own personal consistent style. It’s common with most established artists as their works are always consistent with their own unique styles and techniques. So I was asking myself if I must really choose one to pursue when I love to work several different ways.

I tried to come up with a way where I can introduce all my different styles and techniques in one painting. I eventually came up with the idea of doing a realist style painting but depicting a painting with different style as the subject matter within that painting. I doodled out the idea here as I was thinking about it yesterday: It depicts a painting on an easel on the foreground and the model in the background taking a break on the sofa. This piece would be in the realist style, but on that painting on the easel, I would use whatever styles or techniques. I’m planning to do an alla prima impressionistic painting on it. I thought this would be a good way for me to keep pursuing and explore different approaches while also keeping a consistent body of work that would portray what I do.

I am working on this piece entirely from live observation and spent about three hours establishing a good figure drawing as the lay-in before applying the colors. When attempting a realist piece, I usually first do an accurate small pencil drawing on a paper, then transfer it onto the canvas, as I did with the painting of Britt that I am also working on. But since the figure element here is quite small, I just decided to go ahead and draw it right on the canvas using paint.

I first roughly blocked in the general placement of the figure, considering the composition, using the edges of a broad paintbrush.

Then I went back to the head to define the portrait painting some more, separating the light and shadow sides of the face with tones.

I began adding the features onto the solid understructure of the face I have established. I concentrated on trying to achieve the accurate likeness as well as correct tones and values. As usual, I treated the figure drawing as if I was sculpting three-dimensionally, attaching and detaching pieces of clays. This helps my each brushstrokes define the forms instead of having such strokes with purposes of just trying to make it look cool.

After working and detailing out the face some more, I moved on to laying in the figure. I still treated this nude painting as if I was sculpting, adding clays onto the armature.

Then I added more tones, value ranges, highlights, dark accents, and just polished the overall figure drawing. I also added some more details in the face as well.

Before adding the colors, I would need to work on this figure drawing a bit more when Michelle comes back.