Day One, New Copy, "Pierre Louis Alexandre" by Karin Bergöö Larsson

Pierre Louis Alexandre by Karin Bergöö Larsson

I was really looking forward to starting this copy! I got my canvas stretched, 30" x 24", which was as close as I could get to the proportions of the original painting. I didn't draw a grid on it as I sometimes do, because I was planning on approaching this copy as if I were painting from a model - the subject of this painting actually was a model posing for an art class! So I started on a blank surface. I mixed up a neutral gray color, like the charcoal I would draw with in a figure session, and I started with a loose gesture drawing, trying to capture the gesture of the model's pose. Here is the gesture drawing:

I then started measuring, because I do care about making an accurate portrait. Where I discovered mistakes, I wiped out my lines with a paper towel dipped in Gamsol. After a lot of careful measuring, comparing angles, lining things up with verticals and horizontals (an invisible grid), this is what I had:

After lunch, a copyist friend pointed out that my drawing was a little off in the back and shoulder area, so I made some corrections, which helped, and then I started mixing color. I wasn't expecting to cover the whole surface today, but I managed to do it! I can see that my color blue in the background isn't right, but I'll deal with that next time. This is the first pass, and was painted with thin paint. As I go forward, I'll use more paint and correct the colors as I go. I also see that I'll need to correct the shape of his forehead, but I'm pretty happy with the head and body. The clasped hands are especially interesting to do!

Here is the painting at the end of today:

As I'd hoped, this really did feel like painting from a model! And the great thing about this model is, he doesn't need breaks, never moves, and will be able to get back into the exact pose again the next time I paint him! Fantastic!

Thanks for reading! Click on the images for a larger view.