I've been pretty hyped up reading thru my various
painting methods books, particularly on Sargent
and his scraping back practice on portraits sometimes
to fix errors...but frequently to create a film stain
that works its way into the ground, and then other
subsequent scrapings to build up a particular quality
in the flesh tones.
Sargent was known to also demonstrate his alla prima
methods to art students as well, though he wasn't
particularly fond of teaching being shy and not too
articulate.
One method he taught was blocking the portrait face
in with a midvalue flesh tone...and then painting the
darker values/color and lighter directly into the wet
paint or wet into wet.
Now...this reminded me of a method I use to paint
plein air landscapes which I call the midgray neutral
mud palette. A version of the pigment soup or mother
color approach.
Thinking the portrait much as a landscape of the face,
reading about Sargent's midvalue flesh tone suddenly
clicked in my mind...and I had to paint a study. To
this end...I simply grabbed a picture my wife took of
me having returned successful from an outdoor venture.
I grabbed a 12"x 9" panel...and below spells out the
steps...
I drafted a few gestural lines for the portrait, then
using Indian Yellow and French Ultramarine Blue, applied
a nice dark to the background. My son Jason, let me
in on just how nice of a black Indian Yellow and the
blue make, and he was right...quite luscious!!!
I mixed up my midgray flesh tone, which is the color
seen to the far right here-
Then painted in the whole of the portrait as I read
Sargent would do-
Next, I mixed up a palette of color/values to paint
wet into wet and complete this portrait-
I begin to paint darker values, some lighter and
bit by bit feel my way around the landscape of the
face...
farther along-
and finished, here is a closeup of the face-
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