I find it a helpful exercise to paint from black and white photographs from time to time. This serves two purposes. 1. It helps you focus on drawing with color and 2. It helps break the habit of studying the photo for flesh tones. When I paint from a black and white photo it forces me to draw upon my experiences from  life painting for my color mixing.

Included in this blog are all phases of the demo, even the really ugly phases. It is important to know that just because a painting may look odd in the initial phases, you shouldn't give up on it entirely. Instead, systematically identify what is not allowing the piece to work and eliminate each hindering factor. Sometimes it is because you are putting things down that shouldn't be there. Other times it is because you haven't added a crucial element.

Please pardon any poor quality images. This was shot "on the go" and there is some glare and canvas weave showing. Enjoy!

I started with a loose value sketch in Burnt Umber with a little transparent Red Oxide. This helps me find the correct shapes and placement. I wanted to establish "good bones" right off the bat. In other words, I want something that looks like the subject matter when I squint down. In this phase I avoid painting pupils and nostrils as I see no sense in drawing them only to cover them with paint and have to re-establish their placement.

Now I have put a wash in the background and have placed some of my darkest darks. DON'T skip this step. Nothing is more distressing than rendering a beautiful face and then discovering the values are way too light when you place the darks. Having your darkest dark down will be essential in keying in the rest of the piece.

Now I am laying down color keeping this handy little rule in mind: The upper third of the face tends toward yellow, the middle third towards red, and the lower third towards cool blue/grey/greenish colors (particularly in men). It is hard to see your painting go through this awkward looking phase. However, I am keeping my wits about me knowing that I can't bring out the features until I have some paint down on the surface.

I am working on bringing out some of the features like the mouth.

Here the features are coming together but still need some work. I also need to finish the shirt, tie, and jacket.

Time's Up! This will be the final statement for this demo.