Learning Curve
model – Amber J
Tag teacher
New art completed – “Today’s Lesson”
I worked on a few more details today, and it is now finished and available here.
work progress – detailing
Yesterday I worked on detailing the face and hands. Her left hand still needs some refinement, but otherwise it’s nearly there. I also deepened the blouse color some more with another wash of orange watercolor. I worked more on the hair, too, using colored pencils to add more detail to the curls.
It should be finished, scanned and available on the website tonight…
work progress – skin areas blocked in
Yesterday and today I worked on the skin areas, applying the color with colored pencils and oil pastels, then blending and contouring with my fingers. I found this skin tone to be a refreshing change, as I was able to use an entirely different set of pencils. It’s amazing to me how many different colors can be found in the skin. When I work, I try not to think of what the item is I’m coloring, but rather the colors I see in that section. There are some who will take this even further by turning the piece upside down, but I rarely go that far (only if it’s needed to get to an area for some reason). Sometimes this can backfire, as I’ll get too involved on a small section, and fail to see how it impacts its surrounding areas. Now, I try to step back from time to time in hopes of avoiding this (or at least catching it before it gets irreparable).
With the skin covered, next I can get to work on the details, and finish this piece up…
work progress – paint
Last night I started working on the paint, starting with the face and hair. The hair still needs a few more layers for detail, but is blocked in and serves to represent the color and value of the area. Next, I painted the apple, then the shoes. I finished the night painting the ruler.
Today, I applied a wash of orange across the blouse, and another wash of black across the skirt. I repeated these washes to build up the depth and detail in each. The next step was to apply the textured gesso to the skin areas, and since the skin will be darker, I added a bit of burnt sienna to the mix. The downside of adding color to the clear gesso is all the brush strokes show. So, the skin doesn’t look pretty at the moment, but it’ll all get covered by the oil pastels soon enough…
work progress – airbrushing the background
For this piece, I will keep the background simple, even though it is a room. I masked out everything except the chalkboard, then airbrushed it with a gray-green acrylic paint. Once dry, I removed some of the masking and added some details to the desk with pencils. I started with graphite for the shadows, rubbing them with my fingers to blend. Then I used a variety of ochre and brown colored pencils for the wood grain. Next, I masked around the desk, and airbrushed a light ochre acrylic over all of it.
With that dry, I removed all the masking, then drew the lettering on the board with a pink chalk pastel…
new concept ready and drawn
Okay, after going through many photos and playing with a handful of ideas, I’ve focused in on one. How does a sexy teacher sound? Well, that’s what this one will be, featuring my new model, Stacy Lee…
