After this photo
Yesterday I was watching this video by Stan Miller
In his video he keeps saying that you shouldn’t focus on color, but on tone while doing watercolor. It doesn’t matter if you mix a good skin-color as long as the tone and the contrast is good, it will be alright..
Well… I tried it.. With Miles Davis as a victim – and this is my first time with this approach (and also, it is hyper-loose, maybe it could have been a bit more precise) That considered, it think it turned out alright. I do have problems getting dark enough sometimes though. maybe it’s my watercolors that are not rich enough on pigment. I also tried avoiding using black. Perhaps it’s not a good idea..
Stilistically, I think it looks cool.. But maybe just a little bit too jazzy.. I suppose it’ll take a lot of experiments before I find the point between realism and abstraction that i like the most. I’ve been using stumbleupon a lot these last days, and have stumbled across a lot of cool paintings and drawings, but all in all, i think the work out there for the “popular demand” is a bit too generic and.. similar.. You see tons of those half-expressive colorful portraits, or watercolor-faces with “runny” eyes.. And while all that is cool, I think that it lacks a bit personality for the most part. Anyway – I’m not trying to make that kind of art.. If it ends up looking like it, it’s only a coincidence.. I promise 😉
Here‘s some more Miles Davis portraits
I like this direction. A nice moodiness that is appropriate to the subject. Looser, but it still has your “hand”.
Have you tried painting on larger paper? I find that small paper makes my work tighter, and large paper gives me more possibilities.
And I agree with you that a lot of what people like out on the web is bland and generic and looks the same. Your work is definitely not that!
Hi thanks! Yeah, I’ll try it on bigger paper! The reason I keep doing it in my small sketchbooks is really a question of time.. A bigger drawing just takes that much longer to finish.. And these days i actually spend way too much time on doing other things than my studies.. Which is kind of a problem, so bigger projects will not be right now. Thanks for your comment!
I like this direction. A nice moodiness that is appropriate to the subject. Looser, but it still has your “hand”.
Have you tried painting on larger paper? I find that small paper makes my work tighter, and large paper gives me more possibilities.
And I agree with you that a lot of what people like out on the web is bland and generic and looks the same. Your work is definitely not that!
Hi thanks! Yeah, I’ll try it on bigger paper! The reason I keep doing it in my small sketchbooks is really a question of time.. A bigger drawing just takes that much longer to finish.. And these days i actually spend way too much time on doing other things than my studies.. Which is kind of a problem, so bigger projects will not be right now. Thanks for your comment!
I like the eyes a lot.
I like the eyes a lot.
Thanks
It’s high time you broke out into expressive color. Great start. You are ready to break away from what you call sketches. In fact, you really already have. You are making art. A suggestion- you may already be doing it- find a feeling or an idea in your heart first. Find it, focus on it. Then, find a photo that has some semblance of that idea. Bring yourself to it with color and line work. You’re ready.
Thank you. I”m looking forward to see where it takes me! I’ll continue working with the colors and i’ll try to keep your suggestion in mind.
It’s high time you broke out into expressive color. Great start. You are ready to break away from what you call sketches. In fact, you really already have. You are making art. A suggestion- you may already be doing it- find a feeling or an idea in your heart first. Find it, focus on it. Then, find a photo that has some semblance of that idea. Bring yourself to it with color and line work. You’re ready.
Thank you. I”m looking forward to see where it takes me! I’ll continue working with the colors and i’ll try to keep your suggestion in mind.